STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 


STUDIES 
IN   GARDENING 


BY 

A.    CLUTTON-BROCK 


WITH  PREFACE  AND  NOTES 
BY 

MRS.    FRANCIS    KING 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  WELL-CONSIDERED  GARDEN" 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
1916 


B 


COPYRIGHT,  1916,  BT 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Published  November,  1916 


Publication  in  tlie  United  States 
authorize;  1  oy  i.h-i  London  Times 


PREFACE 

THE  title  of  this  book  does  not  belie  its  contents. 
Within  these  covers  lies  matter  for  the  consideration 
of  those  who  think  about  gardening  as  well  as  for  those 
who  see  and  practice  it.  Unlike  other  gardening  books 
in  its  light-hearted  choice  of  topics  it  is  also  unlike  them 
in  its  high  charm  of  manner,  in  a  certain  urbanity  to 
which  we  confess  ourselves  unaccustomed.  Never  was 
a  lighter  pen  than  this,  never  such  a  pen  so  well-di- 
rected. For  gardening,  and  more  especially  the  appre- 
ciation of  the  art  of  garden  design,  are  matters  upon 
which  much  light  needs  to  be  thrown  for  the  amateur  in 
this  country.  Certain  chapters  of  "Studies  in  Garden- 
ing" should  be  read  before  every  progressive  garden 
club  in  America;  the  two  on  "The  Theory  of  Garden 
Design,"  "Common  Sense  in  Gardening,"  "The  Right 
Use  of  Annuals,"  "The  Problem  of  the  Herbaceous 
Border,"  "The  House  and  the  Garden,"  and  that 
portion  of  the  Introduction  entitled  "The  Planning 
of  the  Garden."  And  what  delectable  learning  is 
stored  in  these  pages ! 

The  tribute  of  tributes  is  most  surely  paid  to  a 
book  one  has  been  asked  to  annotate  when  the  would- 
be  critical  reader  becomes  so  absorbed  in  its  pages  as 
to  forget  the  critical  attitude.  So  entirely  is  "Studies 
in  Gardening"  what  a  book  on  gardening  should  be, 

364265 


vi  PREFACE 

so  entirely  is  it  what  no  other  has  yet  been,  that  to 
keep  from  overpraise  is  difficult.  There  may  be,  there 
will  be  those  to  whom  a  few  matters  of  individual 
taste  in  these  pages  may  not  commend  themselves. 
This  would  be  always  so,  whoever  wrote,  whoever 
read.  The  point  to  be  noticed  is  this:  the  taste  of 
the  author  of  "Studies  in  Gardening"  is  with  rare 
exceptions  based  on  principles  and,  therefore,  cannot 
but  be  sound. 

When  one  reflects  upon  the  lack  of  knowledge  of 
the  principles  of  gardening  among  our  own  amateurs 
one  feels  more  keenly  the  need  of  such  a  leaven  as 
this  book  affords.  General  enlightenment  on  the  great 
subject  is  our  instant  want;  more  study  of  the  broader 
aspects  of  the  gardening  art,  enlivening  this  of  course 
by  constant  excursions  into  the  lovely  realm  of  flower, 
shrub,  and  tree,  matters  of  garden  enclosure  and  gar- 
den decoration. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  among  the  plant  subjects 
considered  in  the  present  volume  there  are  some  not 
to  be  recommended  for  our  Northern  States  for  reasons 
of  soil  and  climate.  It  has  seemed  wise  to  leave  these 
names  unchanged,  adding  on  occasion  an  explanatory 
note.  Many  of  these  plants  flourish  in  our  Northern 
Pacific  States  as  in  England,  and  of  certain  parts  of 
the  South  and  Southwest  the  same  may  be  said.  The 
difference  in  climate  with  regard  to  time  of  bloom 
of  plants  dealt  with  here  makes  the  suggestion  fitting 
that  the  reader  allow  a  date  one  month  later  for  the 
latitude  of  Boston.  This  opinion  is  based  upon  care- 


PREFACE  vii 

ful  notes,  kept  for  many  years  and  constantly  com- 
pared with  like  notes  in  English  journals.  I  wish 
we  might  impress  upon  the  American  gardener  (and 
by  gardener  I  mean  of  course  the  amateur)  the  fact 
that  the  good  English  book  carries  as  much  value 
for  him  as  for  the  Englishman.  It  is  easy  to  learn 
the  distinctions  between  English  climate,  English 
soils  and  the  soils  and  climate  of  this  country;  and 
while  good  sense  compels  us  to  believe  in  the  use  of 
those  subjects  known  to  be  suited  to  our  country,  our 
own  estates  or  bits  of  ground,  we  must  still  look  across 
seas  for  most  of  our  finer  garden  books,  and  in  so 
looking,  we  invariably  find  fresh  and  excellent  ma- 
terial for  our  beds  and  borders. 

Many  unfamiliar  names  occur  in  the  course  of  the 
book.  It  chances  that  nineteen  varieties  of  Dianthus 
are  brought  into  the  dissertation  on  Pinks.  I  ven- 
ture to  think  most  of  these  unknown  to  the  average 
gardener,  but  why  should  he  not  add  them  to  his 
present  knowledge  of  the  genus?  Bailey  lists  twenty- 
six!  Nurserymen  will  respond  to  calls  for  these 
things.  Here  is  a  little  foot-hill  of  horticulture  which 
any  one  may  climb  if  he  will.  Let  us  not  level  it  by 
means  of  notes,  but  rather  urge  the  ambitious  gar- 
dener to  ascend  the  slope  and  there  achieve  a  view  so 
fair,  so  satisfying,  that  he  will  wonder  that  he  thought 
the  climb  a  heavy  or  laborious  thing. 

And  how  accustomed  are  we  in  America,  those  of 
us  who  garden,  to  being  written  down  to !  How  sel- 
dom in  our  young  literature  of  gardening  may  we 


viii  PREFACE 

gather  the  grateful  inference  of  a  little  practical  knowl- 
edge on  our  part  and  a  bit  of  taste  to  boot !  We  need 
books  to  lift  us,  not  to  continually  presuppose  our 
ignorance.  We  need  books  to  stimulate  our  search 
for  garden  learning,  to  send  us  hunting  meanings  of 
names  new  to  us.  America  is  passing  from  her  gar- 
dening infancy  to  her  gardening  youth.  This  youth, 
filled  with  the  romance  and  beauty  of  the  newly  dis- 
covered art,  is  ready  for  the  best  in  garden  writing. 
Wherefore  a  book  like  this  is  thrice  welcome.  Its 
writer  has  that  wide  outlook  upon  the  subject  denied 
to  all  but  few.  The  book  has  a  virility  seldom  en- 
countered in  writings  of  this  character.  It  shows  a 
large  practical  and  personal  acquaintance  with  plants, 
and  an  equally  wide  knowledge  of  the  principles  of 
fine  gardening.  Joined  to  these  qualities  a  love  of 
beauty  shines  through  every  page,  a  charming  humour 
will  out  upon  occasion,  and  an  entirely  delightful 
English  style  enwraps  the  whole.  American  gar- 
dening cannot  but  be  richer,  finer,  for  every  reader 
of  this  book.  "It  is"  exclaims  a  correspondent  lately, 
"the  Englishman  at  his  highest  and  best.  Hear  these 
words:  'But  a  single  flowering  shrub  rightly  placed 
in  front  of  a  dark  barrier  of  greenery  has  your  eye 
to  itself  and  satisfies  it,  like  an  altar  piece  in  a  quiet 
church.'  Can  we  forget  a  sentence  like  that?  I  have 
seldom  read  a  book  with  an  intenser  pleasure." 

The  chapters  of  this  book  appeared  in  the  form  of 
letters  to  the  Times  (London).  The  subjects  seem  to 
have  been  taken  at  random,  for  in  three  instances 


PREFACE  ix 

only  are  the  articles  explicitly  related  to  each  other. 
It  has  seemed  well  therefore  to  allow  the  order  of 
chapters  to  stand  as  in  the  English  edition. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  is  here  made  for  val- 
uable help  given  by  Mr.  Hubert  M.  Canning  and  Mr. 
Wilbur  F.  Dubois;  also  by  Dr.  Alfred  Render  of 
the  Arnold  Arboretum  to  whom  I  owe  the  note  on 
Cytisus. 

LOUISA  YEOMAN  s  KING. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  ..............  x"i 

BANKS  AND  SLOPES  IN  GARDENS       ........  3 

THE  NAMES  OF  FLOWERS  ...........  15 

GARDENING  IN  HEAVY  SOILS  ..........  25 

CAMPANULAS     ..............  36 

THE  CULTIVATION  OF  ALPINE  PLANTS    .......  48 

COLUMBINES      .....     .     ........  60 

APRIL  NOTES  IN  THE  GARDEN     .........  70 

PINKS     ................  81 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  GARDEN  FLOWERS    ......  92 

CHEAP  GARDENING       ............  102 

COMMON  SENSE  IN  GARDENING    .........  113 

LILIES     ................  125 

THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN.  I  .......  139 


«  « 


SOME  DETAILS  OF  SUMMER  GARDENING  .......  156 

THE  RIGHT  USE  OF  ANNUALS      .........  165 

LATE  SUMMER  AND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ROCK  GARDEN    .     .     .  174 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE   PROBLEM   OF  THE   HERBACEOUS   BORDER 183 

THE   TREATMENT   OF  BULBS 192 

ENGLISH  IDEALS  OF  GARDENING 201 

THE  NORTH   SIDE   OF  THE   ROCK   GARDEN 211 

GARDENERS 220 

THE   HOUSE  AND   THE   GARDEN 229 

THE  RIGHT   USE   OF  FLOWERING   SHRUBS 237 

THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS.    I  .     .     .     .     .     .     *     .  246 

n 255 

BULBS  FOR  SPRING  PLANTING 264 

RAISING  PERENNIALS  FROM  SEED 273 

THE  BEAUTY  AND   CHARACTER   OF  FLOWERS 283 

SAXIFRAGES 293 

THE  FIFTY  BEST  HARDY  PERENNIALS 304 

THE  FIFTY  BEST  ROCK  PLANTS    .........  315 

INDEX                                                                     ....  327 


INTRODUCTION 

THIS  book  contains  articles  upon  both  the  theory 
and  the  practice  of  gardening.  There  is  no  need  to 
speak  of  the  practical  articles  in  this  introduction; 
but  it  may  be  as  well  to  say  something  about  the 
general  principles  upon  which  the  theoretical  articles 
are  based.  Those  principles  are  concerned  mainly 
with  the  planning  of  gardens  and  with  the  character 
of  the  flowers  that  should  be  planted  in  them.  The 
writer  is  in  favour  of  the  formal  planning  of  gardens, 
and  in  this  introduction  he  proposes  to  give  some 
general  reasons  for  his  preference.  But  he  cannot 
deny  himself  the  pleasure  of  a  rock  garden,  although 
he  knows  that  a  rock  garden  cannot  well  be  worked 
into  any  formal  design.  In  this  matter  he  sins  with 
many  excellent  gardeners,  who  are  not  likely  to  give 
up  their  rock  gardens  from  any  artistic  scruple.  Rock 
gardens  exist,  and  more  of  them  are  made  every  year. 
In  some  respects  they  have  had  a  good  effect  upon 
other  kinds  of  gardening.  We  must  therefore  make 
the  best  of  them.  This  introduction,  then,  will  deal 
with  rock  gardens,  and  will  attempt  to  show,  first, 
what  is  the  secret  of  their  delight,  and,  secondly,  how 
they  can  best  be  placed  and  planned  so  as  to  spoil 
the  design  of  a  formal  garden  as  little  as  possible. 

xiii 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

The  third  matter  to  be  dealt  with  is  the  character  of 
garden  flowers;  and  this  is  more  controversial  even 
than  the  first  two.  The  writer's  remarks  on  this  sub- 
ject have  already  provoked  some  controversy  and  met 
with  more  agreement.  He  repeats  them  here  because 
they  are  based  upon  the  general  principles  which  he 
has  tried  to  express  in  all  his  theoretical  articles,  and 
because  they  still  seem  to  him  as  true  as  when  he 
first  wrote  them.  But  we  will  begin  first  with  the 
most  important  matter,  and  that  is  — 

THE  PLANNING  OF  GARDENS 

Nothing  in  gardening  is  so  difficult  as  the  planning 
of  a  garden;  and  it  is  peculiarly  difficult  now,  because 
we  are  still  in  the  midst  of  a  revolution,  a  return  to 
nature,  which  has  upset  all  the  old  ideas  and  conven- 
tions of  garden  design  both  good  and  bad.  This  re- 
turn to  nature  has  done  much  good  in  destroying 
some  of  the  worst  fashions  of  fifty  years  ago.  It  has 
taught  us  to  love  plants  for  their  natural  beauty  and 
to  grow  them  so  that  their  natural  beauty  may  be 
shown  to  the  best  advantage.  It  has,  indeed,  revived 
the  whole  art  of  horticulture,  which  in  the  gardens  of 
the  rich  had  shrunk,  a  generation  or  two  ago,  into  the 
cultivation  of  a  few  dull  bedding  plants  under  the 
most  unnatural  conditions.  But  it  has  not  taught  us, 
nor  can  it  teach  us,  the  art  of  garden  design.  For  a 
garden  is,  and  always  must  be,  something  quite  dif- 
ferent from  a  wild  paradise  of  flowers,  and  no  art  can 
turn  it  into  one.  Flower  borders  are  artificial  things, 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

and  so  are  lawns  and  gravel  paths.  If  we  are  to  follow 
nature  in  the  design  of  our  gardens  we  must  do  with- 
out these,  and  even  the  wildest  of  wild  gardeners  will 
scarcely  go  so  far  as  that.  We  should  remember  that 
the  discredited  landscape  gardening  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, with  its  "specimen"  conifers,  its  irrelevant 
shrubberies,  and  its  aimlessly  circuitous  paths,  was 
itself  an  attempt  to  imitate  nature.  We  are  sick  of 
it  now,  not,  as  many  suppose,  because  it  was  un- 
natural, but  because  it  was  ugly;  and  it  is  an  interest- 
ing fact  that  William  Morris,  writing  so  far  back  as 
the  end  of  the  seventies,  attacked  landscape  garden- 
ing, not  for  its  artificiality,  but  for  its  lack  of  order 
and  design.  He,  with  all  his  love  of  wild  beauty,  of 
woods  and  meadows,  said  that  a  garden  should  "by 
no  means  imitate  either  the  wilfulness  or  the  wildness 
of  nature,  but  should  look  like  a  thing  never  to  be  seen 
except  near  a  house."  He  knew  that  no  work  of  art 
should  put  on  the  airs  of  nature;  that,  as  houses  ought 
not  to  be  built  to  look  like  caves,  so  gardens  ought 
not  to  be  designed  to  look  like  flowery  meadows  or 
stretches  of  woodland.  The  beauty  of  nature  is  one 
thing;  the  beauty  of  art  another.  Each  has  its  own 
romance,  its  own  peculiar  appeal  to  our  memories 
and  affections;  and  these  different  appeals  cannot  be 
combined  in  one. 

The  love  of  gardens  has  always  been  so  deep  in 
Englishmen  that  it  survived  even  when  their  love  of 
all  other  beautiful  things  seemed  for  a  while  to  be 
dead;  and,  when  they  built  the  ugliest  houses,  they 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

wished  to  forget  the  ugliness  of  them  in  their  gardens. 
Thus  it  was  that  landscape  gardening  came  into  fash- 
ion. It  was  an  attempt  to  ignore  the  existence  of  the 
house.  Shrubberies  were  grown  to  hide  it  as  best  they 
could,  and  paths  twisted  about  in  a  vain  reluctance 
to  approach  it.  But  when  men  built  beautiful  houses 
they  had  no  desire  for  landscape  or  for  any  kind  of 
wild  gardening.  They  were  proud  of  their  handiwork, 
and  did  not  look  to  nature  or  any  pretence  of  nature 
to  conceal  it  from  them.  The  garden  was  as  much  a 
part  of  their  conquest  of  nature  as  the  house  itself; 
and,  like  the  house,  they  designed  it  to  be  expressive 
of  the  will  and  the  purposes  of  man.  So  the  house 
and  the  garden  were  all  part  of  one  design,  of  which 
the  house  was  the  centre,  giving  a  purpose  and  mean- 
ing to  the  whole;  and  this  idea  that  the  house  shall 
dominate  and  explain  the  garden  is  the  principle  upon 
which  all  formal  gardening  is  based,  whereas  all  wild 
gardening  is  based  upon  a  despair  of  the  house  and 
a  desire  to  ignore  it. 

Now  that  we  are  beginning  to  build  beautiful  houses 
again,  we  are  beginning  also  to  design  formal  gardens 
to  suit  them;  but  even  those  of  us  who  must  needs 
live  in  ugly  houses  will  do  well  to  make  the  best  of 
them,  as  Morris  advised.  For,  after  all,  even  the 
ugliest  house  cannot  be  ignored  by  those  who  live  in 
it;  and  no  skill  can  really  make  a  garden  look  like  a 
flowery  Alpine  meadow  or  a  stretch  of  woodland.  In- 
deed, the  uglier  the  house  the  more  incongruous  must 
be  the  most  plausible  imitation  of  nature,  whereas  a 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

garden  of  ordered  beauty  will  do  much  to  mitigate 
the  ugliness  of  any  house. 

But,  if  we  make  up  our  minds  for  a  formal  garden, 
we  must  understand  clearly  what  are  the  proper  limits 
of  its  formality;  and,  in  the  first  place,  we  must  know 
that  a  formal  garden  does  not  mean  formal  flowers. 
The  landscape  gardeners  tried  to  imitate  nature  in 
their  design,  and  to  depart  from  nature  as  far  as  they 
could  in  their  horticulture.  The  good  formal  gar- 
dener will  forget  nature  altogether  when  he  plans, 
but  when  he  comes  to  choose  his  flowers  he  will  re- 
member that  nature  is  a  better  designer  of  plants 
than  any  gardener,  though  gardeners  may  sometimes 
improve  upon  nature's  designs  in  detail,  and  to  suit 
their  own  purposes.  The  English  idea  of  a  pleasure 
garden  has  always  been  a  garden  of  flowers.  We  love 
flowers  by  instinct,  and  the  return  to  nature  in  gar- 
dening got  all  its  force,  not  from  our  desire  for  a  new 
kind  of  design,  but  from  our  desire  to  see  once  more 
a  natural  abundance  and  variety  of  flowers  hi  our 
gardens.  It  is  therefore  the  task  of  the  designer  to 
provide  this  abundance  and  variety  within  the  limits 
of  his  design.  In  this  respect  he  will  try  to  outdo 
nature  rather  than  to  ignore  her,  and  he  will  be  eager 
to  learn  any  lessons  that  she  can  teach  him.  He  will 
place  his  beds  and  borders  according  to  a  pattern  in 
his  own  mind,  about  which  nature  can  teach  him 
little  or  nothing;  but,  when  he  comes  to  plant  them, 
he  will  know  that  nature  can  teach  him  a  great  deal; 
for  wild  flowers,  in  the  course  of  the  struggle  for  life, 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

have  acquired  a  natural  fitness  of  combination  and 
arrangement,  which  art  may  improve  with  its  greater 
variety  of  material,  but  should  not  ignore.  It  used 
to  be  the  delight  of  gardeners  to  ignore  this  natural 
fitness.  As  Ruskin  remarked,  they  would  tear  house- 
leeks  from  their  roofs  and  plant  them  round  their 
beds.  It  was  their  practice  to  seize  on  the  abnormal- 
ities of  nature  and  make  them  the  rule  in  the  garden, 
although  such  abnormalities  are  usually  the  result  of 
adaptation  to  peculiar  conditions  and  look  utterly 
out  of  place  except  in  those  conditions.  Most  Cacti, 
for  instance,  are  desert  plants,  and  may  have  a  beauty 
of  their  own  when  they  grow  among  rocks  and  sand. 
They  have  none  at  all  in  a  flower-bed.  The  return  to 
nature  has  taught  us  to  see  the  absurdity  of  carpet 
bedding  and  all  such  misuses  of  natural  materials. 
It  has  quickened  our  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things, 
so  that  the  best  gardeners  now  delight  in  growing 
plants  in  conditions  that  will  show  off  their  beauty  to 
the  best  advantage.  It  is  the  business  of  formal  gar- 
dening, as  of  every  other  art,  to  do  this;  to  make  its 
own  design,  and  at  the  same  time  to  obey  the  laws  of 
its  material  —  that  is  to  say,  to  use  its  material  so 
that  its  characteristic  beauty  may  be  displayed  to  the 
best  advantage. 

To  combine  these  two  things,  formal  beauty  of  de- 
sign and  a  right  use  of  material,  is  the  main  difficulty 
of  every  art,  and  it  is  peculiarly  difficult  in  gardening. 
There  is  always  a  strong  naturalistic  tendency  in  the 
gardener  who  loves  his  plants,  as  in  the  landscape 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

painter  who  loves  the  country,  or  the  dramatist  who 
loves  men  and  women.  The  mention  of  this  nat- 
uralistic tendency  makes  one  think  at  once  of 

THE  ROCK  GARDEN, 

which  is  the  most  signal  instance  of  it  in  modern  gar- 
dening. It  must  be  confessed  at  once  that  rock  gar- 
dening, as  we  all  practise  it,  is  inconsistent  with  all 
the  ideas  that  have  produced  formal  gardening,  and 
aims  at  a  different  kind  of  pleasure  from  that  which 
the  formal  garden  gives.  A  formal  garden  is  a  place 
to  live  in,  whenever  our  climate  allows;  but  no  one 
would  think  of  living  in  a  rock  garden.  There  are  no 
flat  spaces  of  lawn  in  it  or  shady  retreats.  It  is  all 
up  and  down,  and,  except  for  a  few  narrow  and  wind- 
ing paths,  all  made  up  of  rocks  and  flowers  and  shrubs. 
No  one  except  the  rock  gardener  himself  ever  stays 
in  it  for  long.  For  others  it  is  a  sight  to  be  seen,  per- 
haps with  interest,  perhaps  with  a  polite  show  of  in- 
terest. If  it  is  very  large,  very  boldly  built,  and  very 
skilfully  cultivated  it  may  possibly  have  some  slight 
resemblance  to  an  Alpine  hollow  or  slope;  but  usually 
it  has  none  at  all,  and  betrays  itself  at  once  as  a  con- 
trivance for  the  cultivation  of  certain  plants  that  will 
not  thrive  or  will  not  display  their  full  beauty  except 
in  certain  special  conditions.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  place 
made  for  the  sake  of  the  plants  which  are  grown  in 
it,  whereas  the  plants  in  a  formal  garden  are  but  orna- 
ments to  the  general  design  of  the  garden. 
So,  if  you  are  a  formal  gardener  on  principle,  you 


xx  INTRODUCTION 

cannot  defend  the  rock  garden  on  the  same  principle; 
and  we  may  say  at  once  that,  if  it  were  possible  to 
have  only  one  kind  of  garden,  the  formal  garden  would 
be  the  kind  to  choose.  But  luckily  that  is  not  so;  many 
different  kinds  of  gardening  are  possible,  and  many 
different  kinds  of  pleasure  are  to  be  got  from  them. 
The  pleasure  of  the  formal  garden  is  the  most  uni- 
versal, the  most  sure,  and  the  most  lasting.  Any  one 
who  knows  nothing  at  all  of  plants  or  horticulture 
can  enjoy  a  formal  garden;  and  if  it  changes  hands 
its  beauty  can  be  easily  maintained,  since  there  is  a 
routine  of  formal  gardening  which  most  professional 
gardeners  understand.  On  the  other  hand,  you  must 
have  a  peculiar  interest  and  delight  in  plants  for  their 
own  sake  if  you  are  to  take  a  real  pleasure  in  a  rock 
garden;  while  the  knowledge  necessary  for  the  proper 
cultivation  of  a  rock  garden  is  not  usually  possessed 
by  professional  gardeners,  so  that  when  a  rock  garden 
changes  hands  and  loses  the  care  and  skill  of  its  orig- 
inal possessor  it  is  apt  to  run  wild  and  become  a  mere 
confusion  of  coarse-growing  plants.  But  these  objec- 
tions to  the  rock  garden  are  the  very  reasons  why  the 
true  rock  gardener  takes  a  peculiar  delight  in  it;  and 
it  is  a  curious  fact  that  every  gardener  with  a  real 
love  of  his  art  tends  sooner  or  later  to  become  a  rock 
gardener  and  to  take  a  greater  pleasure  in  his  rock 
plants  than  in  any  others.  This  may  seem  both  wrong 
and  incomprehensible  to  those  who  are  not  gardeners; 
but  they  must  remember  that  the  gardener  not  only 
takes  a  pleasure  in  his  flowers  when  they  are  grown, 


INTRODUCTION  xxi 

he  also  takes  a  pleasure  in  growing  them;  and  there  is 
more  pleasure  to  be  got  from  growing  Alpine  plants 
than  any  others.  This  is  not  merely  because  they  are 
difficult,  although  in  every  kind  of  art  and  craft  there 
is  always  a  pleasure  in  overcoming  difficulties;  it  is 
also  because  Alpine  plants  have  a  peculiar  kind  of 
beauty  which  appeals  to  the  lover  of  flowers  more 
than  the  beauty  of  any  other  kind  of  plants. 

Alpine  plants,  as  every  one  knows,  have  adapted 
themselves  to  certain  abnormal  circumstances.  They 
grow  in  high  wind-swept  places,  often  in  deep  fissures 
of  rock  with  but  little  soil,  where  they  enjoy  but  a 
short  spring  and  summer,  and  where  they  endure  for 
a  great  part  of  the  year  the  most  extreme  cold.  In 
one  way  they  are  the  hardiest  of  all  plants;  but  in 
another  they  are  the  most  delicate.  For  in  adapting 
themselves  to  their  life  among  the  snows  they  have 
lost  much  of  the  power  which  other  plants  possess  of 
adaptation  to  other  conditions.  And  this  applies  not 
only  to  their  health,  but  also  to  their  beauty.  If  it 
were  possible  to  grow  the  higher  and  more  difficult 
Alpine  plants  in  an  ordinary  border,  they  would  look 
quite  insignificant  among  the  coarser  plants  of  the 
lowlands.  Even  those  easier  rock  plants  which  will 
grow  readily  enough  in  the  border  lose  a  great  part 
of  their  beauty  there,  for  their  home  is  the  rocks,  and 
they  seem  to  have  been  designed  by  nature  as  orna- 
ments for  the  rocks  alone.  Still,  we  are  used  to  seeing 
many  of  them  in  the  border  and  find  them  beautiful 
enough  there.  No  one,  however,  could  think  of  the 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

higher  Alpines,  the  Androsaces,  the  smaller  Pinks  and 
Primulas,  the  little  encrusted  Saxifrages,  or  the  most 
delicate  Campanulas  as  anything  except  mountain 
plants;  so  much  do  they  seem  made  for  their  moun- 
tain home  that  one  could  almost  believe  they  would 
bring  a  vision  of  it  to  any  one  who  knew  them  only  in 
captivity;  and  yet  a  great  part  of  their  beauty  comes 
from  the  contrast  between  its  delicacy  "so  still  and 
faint  and  fearing  to  be  looked  upon"  and  the  wild, 
fierce  places  in  which  they  grow  by  nature.  But  that 
delicacy  is  very  far  from  the  hectic  delicacy  of  tropical 
flowers.  The  higher  Alpine  plants  grow  and  flower 
for  but  a  short  time  of  the  year,  but  in  that  time  their 
life  is  eager  and  quick  in  proportion  to  its  shortness. 
When  the  warm  spring  wind  blows  and  the  snows 
melt  they  turn  from  brown  to  green  in  a  week.  Their 
buds  swell  so  that  you  can  almost  see  them  swelling; 
and  their  flowers  have  a  peculiar  brightness  that  seems 
to  tell  of  the  abundance  of  life  packed  into  so  small 
a  compass  and  enjoyed  for  so  short  a  season.  There  is 
nothing  in  nature  so  full  of  wonder  and  delight  as  an 
Alpine  spring.  It  is  the  very  symbol  of  all  sudden 
happy  changes,  the  chief  theme  of  mountain  folk- 
song and  mountain  music;  and  it  is  not  strange  that, 
as  we  go  to  hear  the  songs  of  Grieg  in  a  London  con- 
cert-room, so  we  should  wish  to  see  some  of  the  magic 
of  that  spring  in  our  lowland  gardens.  Therefore  the 
rock  gardener  contrives  his  little  makebelieve.  He 
cannot  hope  that  his  small  rocks  and  slopes  and  val- 
leys will  in  themselves  have  any  look  of  the  Alps;  but 


INTRODUCTION  xxiii 

they  will  at  any  rate  serve  as  a  frame  not  incongruous 
to  the  beauty  of  his  Alpine  flowers.  And  his  pleasure 
in  rock  gardening  is  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  the 
nearer  he  gets  to  a  natural  arrangement  of  his  rocks 
the  more  likely  are  his  plants  to  thrive  among  them. 
This  kind  of  natural  arrangement  is  not  easy  to 
contrive,  and  will  never  come  by  chance.  When  peo- 
ple first  began  to  make  rockeries  they  seem  to  have 
had  some  dim  idea  of  imitating  chaos.  They  bought 
loads  of  clinkers,  certainly  the  most  chaotic  objects 
ever  produced  either  by  nature  or  art,  and  they  shot 
them  down  in  confused  heaps  in  parts  of  the  garden 
most  unfavourable  to  plant  life.  Among  these  heaps 
they  planted  Ferns  and  Stonecrops  and  London 
pride.  Some  of  these  perhaps  contrived  to  live,  and 
did  in  time  conceal  some  of  the  desolation  of  the 
clinkers;  but  their  survival  was  a  credit  to  them- 
selves rather  than  to  those  who  put  them  there.  When, 
however,  rockeries  first  began  to  be  thought  of  as 
places  for  the  cultivation  of  rock  plants,  there  was  a 
violent  reaction  from  this  imitation  of  chaos.  Every 
plant  was  provided  with  a  square  enclosure  of  stones 
and  a  large  zinc  label,  so  that  even  if  the  plant  died, 
which  it  often  did,  it  might  not  lack  a  monument. 
This  was  formal  gardening  reduced  to  an  absurdity; 
and  those  who  really  loved  the  beauty  of  Alpine  plants 
and  were  eager  to  grow  them  soon  began  to  see  that 
the  mere  proximity  of  a  rock  would  not  cure  an  Al- 
pine plant  of  its  home  sickness.  They  set  to  work  to 
discover  what  benefit  the  plant  got  from  its  native 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

rocks,  and  they  saw  that  it  was  protected  by  those 
rocks  from  extremes  both  of  heat  and  cold,  of  drought 
and  moisture.  They  saw,  too,  that  it  could  get  that 
protection  only  from  rocks  arranged  in  certain  natural 
ways;  and  therefore  they  set  to  work  to  imitate  such 
arrangements  in  their  own  rock  gardens.  So  the 
building  of  rocks  became  an  art  and  also  one  of  the 
chief  pleasures  of  rock  gardening.  It  is  difficult  to 
convey  to  any  one  who  has  never  tried  it  how  great 
that  pleasure  can  be,  and  how  it  increases  with  experi- 
ence. There  is  no  one  fixed  principle  of  rock  build- 
ing, since  natural  arrangements  of  rocks  are  infinitely 
diverse,  and  different  plants  have  adapted  them- 
selves to  their  diversities.  But  this  fact  is  what  makes 
the  pleasure  of  the  game.  The  beginner,  if  he  is  wise, 
will  build  upon  a  fixed  principle.  He  will  arrange 
most  of  his  rocks  so  that  they  run  into  the  ground  at 
an  angle  of  about  45  deg.  with  the  earth's  surface,  and 
so  protect  the  roots  of  the  plants  below  them  from 
both  heat  and  cold.  But  as  his  knowledge  increases 
he  will  get  more  of  the  variety  of  nature  into  his  build- 
ing, and  put  his  rocks  together  so  that  they  provide 
homes  exactly  suitable  for  the  more  difficult  plants 
which  he  wishes  to  grow.  He  will  come  to  look  upon 
his  rockwork  as  a  kind  of  puzzle  to  be  fitted  together 
so  that  every  interstice  will  have  some  peculiar  charm 
for  some  particular  plant;  and  it  will  be  his  delight 
to  find  a  plant  perfectly  suited  to  each  interstice. 
Needless  to  say,  this  is  not  a  game  that  can  be  played 
in  the  ordinary  flower  border,  where  there  is  not  much 


INTRODUCTION  xxv 

variety  of  condition  and  where  the  plants  are  all  con- 
tented, in  reason,  with  what  they  get.  Those  who 
are  quite  ignorant  of  gardening  may  think  a  fine 
flower  border  more  beautiful  than  any  rockwork,  and 
may  wonder  why  any  one  should  be  at  so  much  pains 
to  produce  an  inferior  kind  of  beauty.  In  answer  to 
them  it  must  be  confessed  that  rock  gardening  is  a 
kind  of  game  which  makes  its  own  difficulties  and 
gets  its  own  pleasures  out  of  them;  yet  the  rock  gar- 
dener will  not  admit  that  it  produces  an  inferior  kind 
of  beauty,  but  rather  a  beauty  more  subtle  and  to  be 
appreciated  only  by  those  who  love  plants  and  study 
their  ways  of  growth.  Plants,  he  will  say,  like  all 
other  kinds  of  life,  get  a  great  part  of  their  beauty 
from  their  adaption  to  their  surroundings,  and  the 
more  exactly  and  narrowly  they  are  adapted  to  their 
surroundings  the  greater  that  beauty  will  be;  while 
plants  that  thrive  anywhere  can  have  but  little  of 
that  kind  of  beauty.  Their  good  nature  makes  them 
lose  character.  They  are  like  men  with  whom  you  can 
do  what  you  choose  —  useful  but  uninteresting.  Of 
all  plants  the  higher  Alpines  are  most  narrowly  adapted 
to  their  surroundings;  and  of  all  plants  they  have 
the  most  character.  Nature  seems  to  have  designed 
them  more  exactly  than  other  flowers  with  a  more 
unrelenting  pressure  of  circumstances,  so  that  they 
have  a  beauty  of  proportion  not  often  found  in  the 
lowland  plants  that  will  adapt  their  growth  to  con- 
ditions so  various.  There  is,  we  may  suppose,  an 
ideal  proportion  for  every  plant  in  all  its  parts.  This 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

ideal  proportion  is  continually  forced  upon  the  higher 
Alpines  by  the  severities  of  nature,  but  not  upon  plants 
that  have  a  wider  range  and  an  easier  life.  But  the 
peculiar  beauty  of  Alpine  plants  must  explain  itself, 
if  it  is  to  be  appreciated.  You  must  be  able  to  see 
from  its  surroundings  how  it  has  come  to  be  what  it 
is;  and  the  rock  gardener's  art  or  game  is  to  contrive 
those  surroundings  so  that  they  shall  tell  their  own 
story.  He  cannot  do  this  so  far  as  the  elements  are 
concerned.  He  cannot  provide  winds  or  snows,  but 
he  can  provide  rocks  naturally  disposed;  and  he  must 
do  all  he  can  to  provide  sunshine  and  fresh  air.  It  is 
all  a  game,  perhaps;  but  it  is  one  of  the  pleasantest 
and  most  innocent  in  the  world;  and  since  it  is  a 
game  played  with  living  things  and  against  the  caprices 
of  the  weather,  there  is  no  end  to  it,  nor  is  there  ever 
likely  to  be  one.  Some  plants  are  easily  enough  grown 
to-day  that  were  thought  almost  impossible  twenty 
years  ago;  but  still  there  are  many,  not  only  from  the 
Alps,  but  from  the  Himalayas,  the  Pyrenees,  and  the 
Caucasus,  that  have  not  yet  been  tamed  by  any  skill. 
Some  of  these  may  in  time  yield  up  their  secret  or 
grow  content  with  our  climate.  Perhaps  some  day 
the  blue  glory  of  the  Fairy  Forget-me-not1  will  come 
down  from  its  mountain  heights  to  shine  on  suburban 
rockeries.  But  that  will  not  be  in  our  time.  For 
many  years  to  come  lonely  triumphs  will  be  possible 
to  every  rock  gardener;  and,  indeed,  one  often  sees 
some  difficult  plant  better  grown  on  a  small  rockery 

1  Myosotis  palustris.    L.  Y.  K. 


INTRODUCTION  xxvii 

than  in  the  most  sumptuous  rock  gardens.  Rock  gar- 
dens are  to  be  found  everywhere  now.  They  are  a 
part  of  the  return  to  nature  in  gardening,  and,  like 
other  things  in  that  movement,  they  are  sometimes 
carried  to  absurd  lengths.  But,  in  spite  of  this,  with 
their  ceaseless  experiments  and  with  the  new  sense 
they  bring  of  the  characteristic  beauty  of  plants,  they 
have  done  much  good,  not  only  to  the  craft  of  horti- 
culture, but,  in  an  indirect  way,  to  the  art  of  flower 
arrangement.  They  are  teaching  gardeners  not  to  play 
tricks  with  their  plants,  not  to  use  them  like  chips  in 
a  mosaic.  They  have,  at  any  rate,  put  an  end  to  car- 
pet bedding  except  in  certain  public  gardens  where  it 
is  practised  as  an  interesting  survival.  In  the  rock 
garden  nature  itself  forces  upon  the  gardener  some  con- 
gruity  of  arrangement.  You  cannot  mix  Hollyhocks 
with  Androsaces;  at  least,  if  you  do  the  Androsaces 
are  pretty  sure  to  die.  And  the  gardener  who  gets 
a  sense  of  congruity  from  his  rockwork  will  carry  it 
into  other  parts  of  his  garden.  It  is  not  in  the  least 
inconsistent  with  formal  design.  Indeed,  formal  de- 
sign is  quickly  spoilt  by  any  incongruity  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  plants;  and  the  best  formal  borders  have 
a  natural  look,  with  all  their  regularity. 

Still,  with  all  that  can  be  said  for  it,  rock  garden- 
ing remains  a  game  for  the  true  gardener,  and  no  one 
should  have  a  rock  garden  who  does  not  intend  to 
spend  time  and  labour  upon  it  himself.  Professional 
gardeners  are  an  excellent  race  of  men;  but  most  of 
them  are  made  gardeners,  not  born,  and  rock  gardens 


xxviii  INTRODUCTION 

are  usually  incomprehensible  whims  to  them.  They 
can  take  a  pride  in  a  regiment  of  calceolarias,  but  not 
in  a  plant  that  dies  if  you  pull  it  up  by  mistake  for  a 
weed  and  makes  no  show  even  when  it  thrives.  There 
is  some  danger  that  rock  gardens  will  become  fashion- 
able; and  already  you  will  sometimes  find  strange  ac- 
cumulations of  stone  in  pretentious  gardens  which 
are,  no  doubt,  meant  to  be  rock  gardens.  Indeed, 
there  is  a  story  of  a  millionaire  who  built  a  rock  gar- 
den all  of  concrete  blocks  so  well  fixed  together  that 
there  was  no  room  at  all  for  plants  to  grow  between 
them.  But,  if  rock  gardening  does  become  fashion- 
able, it  is  not  likely  to  remain  so  for  long.  A  rock 
garden  cannot  be  bought  outright,  like  a  diamond 
necklace,  and  kept  without  further  trouble.  It  is 
nothing  unless  its  owner  loves  it  and  understands  it; 
but,  if  he  does,  then  he  can  get  as  much  pleasure  out 
of  it  as  out  of  any  amusement  provided  by  the  bounty 
of  nature  and  the  ingenuity  of  man. 

This  difficulty  of  the  rock  garden  is  only  an  extreme 
instance  of  the  difficulties  that  must  be  always  crop- 
ping up  for  every  gardener  who  loves  his  plants  and 
seeks  to  provide  them  with  natural  conditions,  and 
who  also  aims  at  a  formal  beauty  of  design.  At  every 
point  he  will  have  to  make  some  kind  of  sacrifice  or 
compromise.  But  that  is  no  reason  why  he  should 
forgo  formal  beauty  altogether.  It  is  rather  a  reason 
why  he  should  try  to  understand  its  principles  clearly, 
so  that  he  may  know  what  is  the  best  sacrifice  or  com- 
promise to  make  in  each  particular  case.  Unless  he 


INTRODUCTION  xxix 

accepts  and  understands  the  principles  of  formal 
beauty,  he  will  have  no  principles  to  go  on  except 
principles  of  horticulture,  which,  however  excellent 
they  may  be,  will  not  help  him  to  solve  many  of  his 
most  difficult  problems,  will  not,  for  instance,  tell 
him  when  to  leave  nature  alone  and  when  to  subdue 
it  to  his  own  purposes.  It  is  a  main  principle  of  formal 
gardening  that  a  gardener  may  do  anything  he  chooses 
with  his  materials  to  increase  their  use  or  beauty, 
but  that  he  must  not  play  tricks  upon  them  merely 
to  show  how  far  he  can  pervert  them  from  the  course 
of  nature.  Thus,  where  a  tree  or  shrub  is  grown  for 
its  own  sake,  to  clip  it  is  to  spoil  its  natural  beauty 
for  no  reason.  But,  when  trees  or  shrubs  are  used  to 
make  a  hedge,  clipping  increases  their  beauty  as  it 
increases  their  use.  A  hedge,  properly  used,  is  only 
a  kind  of  living  wall,  and  you  can  see  at  a  glance  that 
it  is  grown  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  to  serve  as  a  wall. 
So,  whatever  treatment  makes  a  better  wall  of  it  is 
justified;  and  the  formal  gardener  will  not  try  to  con- 
ceal his  living  walls,  but  will  make  them  play  a  part 
in  the  beauty  of  his  design.  He  will  see  that  they 
are  of  the  finest  materials — of  yew,  or  box,  or  holly, 
not  of  privet  or  laurel;  and  he  will  clip  them  care- 
fully, so  that  they  grow  solid  and  even.  Hedges  of 
this  kind,  well  grown  and  well  placed,  will  serve  as 
divisions  of  different  parts  of  the  garden,  as  shelters 
for  the  flowers,  and  also  as  frames  to  set  off  their 
beauty.  Every  one  must  feel  the  charm  of  well-kept 
yew  hedges  in  an  old  garden,  and  the  secret  of  that 


xxx  INTRODUCTION 

charm  is  that  in  them  nature  is  subdued  to  the  happy 
purposes  of  man.  She  is  always  quiet  within  their  en- 
closure, as  the  sea  is  quiet  in  a  harbour;  and  they 
are  a  sign,  wherever  they  are  to  be  found,  that  order 
and  peace  and  a  delight  in  beautiful  things  have 
been  long  established  there.  This  is  the  secret  of  the 
charm  of  formal  gardens,  and  it  is  a  charm  that  we 
cannot  find  in  any  flowery  wilderness,  still  less  in  the 
most  cunning  imitation  of  one. 

So  much  for  the  planning  of  gardens.  There  re- 
mains to  be  considered. 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  GARDEN  FLOWERS, 

and  in  particular  the  principles  upon  which  one  should 
aim  at  their  improvement. 

The  art  of  improving  or  changing  garden  flowers  is 
probably  as  old  as  the  art  of  gardening  itself.  So 
soon  as  plants  are  cultivated  many  of  them  become 
liable  to  changes  and  developments  of  a  kind  which 
they  seldom  experience  in  a  state  of  nature,  because 
such  changes  and  developments  are  of  little  or  no  use 
to  them  in  the  struggle  for  life.  The  gardener's  pur- 
poses, however,  are  apt  to  be  different  from  those  of 
nature,  and  he  makes  a  different  use  of  that  tendency 
to  variation  which  exists  in  all  plants.  Wild  plants 
in  favourable  conditions,  for  instance,  often  show  a 
tendency  to  double  their  flowers;  but  that  tendency 
seldom  goes  very  far,  since  doubling  is  rather  a  hin- 
drance than  a  help  to  plants  in  the  propagation  of 
their  species.  It  is  a  kind  of  excess  that  comes  with 


INTRODUCTION  xxxi 

prosperity,  and  is  apt  to  be  soon  checked  by  the  severe 
laws  of  life.  To  the  gardener,  however,  it  often  seems 
an  excess  to  be  encouraged,  and  he  encourages  it  by 
selection  on  a  different  principle  from  that  of  nature. 
He  may  also  encourage  an  increase  in  the  size  of  the 
flowers  and  a  greater  brightness  or  variety  in  their 
colour  by  the  same  means.  Such  changes  or  improve- 
ments have  been  practised  from  time  immemorial, 
particularly  in  the  East,  so  that  the  origin  of  some 
garden  flowers,  as,  for  instance,  of  several  kinds  of 
roses,  is  unknown  to  us.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
there  was  a  great  variety  of  florists'  flowers,  and  partic- 
ularly of  carnations,  as  we  can  tell  from  the  illustra- 
tions to  Parkinson's  Paradisus.  The  Dutchmen  had 
then  developed  Tulips  and  Hyacinths  and  Crocuses 
pretty  much  as  we  have  them  now;  and  most  of 
them  were  far  removed  from  the  original  natural 
species.  But  all  these  developments  were  produced 
by  simple  selection  and  cultivation.  The  principles 
of  hybridization  were  not  understood,  and  the  process 
therefore  could  not  be  practised  artificially.  Now 
that  these  principles  are  understood  and  can  be  prac- 
tised, however  empirically  and  imperfectly,  our  florists 
have  an  enormous  advantage  over  their  forefathers; 
and  as  their  knowledge  increases  of  the  conditions 
most  favourable  to  hybridization,  that  advantage  will 
grow  still  greater.  Already  changes  are  being  worked 
upon  certain  plants  with  wonderful  speed.  The  Pansy, 
as  we  have  it  now,  has  been  developed  out  of  the  little 
wild  Pansy  (Viola  tricolor).  The  process  began  about 


xxxii  INTRODUCTION 

1813,  and  by  1830  many  varieties  approaching  the 
modern  Pansy  in  size  and  colour  and  shade  were  al- 
ready in  existence.  But  the  Viola  of  gardens,  or 
tufted  Pansy,  is  a  creation  almost  of  our  own  time 
and  a  hybrid  between  the  Pansy  proper  and  the  Al- 
pine Viola  cornuta.  Not  much  more  than  a  genera- 
tion ago  the  Begonia  was  a  plant  with  insignificant 
flowers  and  grown  chiefly  for  its  leaves.  Now  we 
have  Begonias  with  flowers  almost  as  large  as  Roses 
in  a  great  variety  of  colours.  Dahlias  have  changed 
the  character  of  their  flowers  under  our  eyes.  Won- 
derful things  have  been  done,  and  are  being  done,  with 
Larkspurs  and  Phloxes.  There  are  innumerable  new 
Daffodils,  and  they  increase  about  every  year  in  size 
and  in  brightness  and  diversity  of  colour;  while  there 
seems  to  be  a  promise  of  new  races  of  Roses  utterly 
surpassing  any  that  we  have  now  both  in  beauty  and 
in  vigour  of  habit.1 

But  this  new  power  will  be  attended  with  new 
dangers  if  it  is  not  exercised  with  discretion;  and 
already  we  can  see  what  these  dangers  are.  It  is  a 
delightful  game  to  make  new  flowers,  but  it  is  not 
one  that  should  be  played  wantonly  or  blindly.  It 
is  unfortunate  that  hybridization  should  be  first  prac- 
tised systematically  in  an  age  of  very  uncertain  taste; 
for  there  is  a  danger  lest  irreparable  harm  may  be  done 

1  Certain  species  of  roses  recently  discovered  in  China  by  E.  H.  Wilson 
have  never  been  hybridized.  When  one  considers  that  all  the  roses  we  now 
have  are  descended  from  four  or  five  species  it  is  not  easy  even  to  imagine 
the  number  we  may  have  after  bringing  in  fifteen  or  twenty  new  species, 
crossing  those  with  each  other  and  with  those  we  already  know.  L.  Y.  K. 


INTRODUCTION  xxxiii 

to  some  of  our  finest  flowers  while  every  one  is  exult- 
ing over  the  improvement  worked  upon  them.  At 
present  the  florists  seem  to  be  working  upon  no  sys- 
tem, because  there  is  no  general  standard  of  taste  to 
impose  a  system  upon  them.  They  believe  that  every 
increase  in  the  size  of  a  flower,  every  change  in  its 
colour,  is  an  improvement;  and  they  are  often  con- 
firmed in  this  belief  by  the  awards  of  flower  shows, 
which,  in  the  provinces  at  least,  are  still  inclined  to 
favour  flowers  as  little  like  nature  as  they  can  be. 
Flower  shows,  indeed,  have  not  had  a  good  effect  upon 
the  development  of  plants,  however  much  they  may 
have  improved  their  culture,  since  their  tendency 
has  been  to  encourage  gardeners  to  grow  plants  for 
their  flowers  alone.  Now  a  plant  intended  to  be  an 
ornament  to  a  garden  ought  to  be  considered  as  a 
whole.  Its  flowers  are  only  a  part  of  its  beauty,  and 
it  should  also  have  a  beauty  of  leafage,  of  habit,  and 
of  proportion.  The  flowers  of  wild  plants  are  often 
too  small,  at  least  to  the  gardener's  taste,  in  propor- 
tion to  their  leafage  and  stature;  but  the  flowers  of 
garden  plants  may  easily  be  too  large;  and  in  some 
cases  the  florists  have  already  made  them  so.  The 
modern  Begonia,  particularly  the  double  Begonia, 
is  an  instance  in  point.  The  flowers  are  so  enormous 
that  all  proportion  is  lost  between  them  and  the  plant 
itself.  It  seems  to  be  overburdened  with  them  like 
a  woman  laden  with  heavy  jewelry.  There  are  other 
plants  of  a  habit  less  prostrate  by  nature  which  bear 
the  weight  of  huge  flowers  still  more  awkwardly. 


xxxiv  INTRODUCTION 

There  are  Carnations  and  Dahlias  and  Roses  that 
look  like  weary  Titans  unless  every  flower  head  is 
supported  with  sticks.  This  defect  is  not  seen  in 
separate  blossoms  exhibited  at  a  flower  show;  but  it 
is  glaring  in  a  garden,  and  ought  to  banish  them  from 
all  gardens.  It  is  important  that  we  should  cultivate 
in  ourselves  and  in  our  florists  a  nice  sense  of  propor- 
tion in  all  the  parts  of  a  plant.  No  one  can  say  ex- 
actly what  is  the  limit  of  size  beyond  which  the  flowers 
of  a  particular  plant  ought  not  to  be  developed;  but 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  every  plant  ought  to  carry  its 
flowers  with  ease;  and,  besides  this,  the  size  of  the 
plant  itself,  the  nature  of  its  habit,  and  the  character 
of  its  leafage  should  be  considered.  A  small  creeping 
plant  may  usually  have  larger  flowers  than  an  erect 
plant  of  the  same  size,  because  it  can  carry  them 
more  easily;  and  indeed  among  mountain  plants 
there  are  many  with  flowers  very  large  for  their  size. 
Also,  a  plant  with  large  leaves  can  endure  larger 
flowers  than  a  plant  with  small  ones;  and  obviously 
a  large  plant  can  endure  larger  flowers  than  a  small 
one.  Yet  this  plain  fact  is  often  ignored  by  florists, 
who  will  dwarf  a  plant  without  decreasing  the  size 
of  its  flowers  and  so  destroy  the  greater  part  of  its 
beauty.  The  dwarf  Snapdragon  is  a  case  in  point, 
which  looks  as  much  a  deformity  as  a  human  dwarf; 
and  the  dwarf  Sweet-pea  is  not  much  better. 

The  doubling  of  flowers  is  a  part  of  the  same  ten- 
dency to  grow  plants  for  their  flowers  alone,  which 
is  often  carried  to  excess.  Most  flowers  are  more 


INTRODUCTION  xxxv 

beautiful  single  than  double.  But  there  are  excep- 
tions; and  a  good  many  double  flowers  are,  at  any 
rate,  more  durable  and  stronger  in  colour  than  single 
ones  of  the  same  kind.  It  would  be  absurd  to  object 
to  all  double  flowers  on  principle,  as,  for  instance,  to 
double  Pinks  or  Roses  or  Dahlias;  but  even  these 
may  be  easily  made  too  double,  so  that  they  look 
stiff  or  puddingy;  while  there  are  other  flowers  of 
great  natural  beauty  of  form  which  are  entirely  spoilt 
by  being  doubled.  Among  these  are  nearly  all  bell- 
shaped  flowers.  Yet  the  florists  are  always  producing 
double  varieties  of  the  beautiful  Campanula  persici- 
folia,  in  which  all  its  grace  of  form  is  destroyed  with- 
out any  improvement  in  force  of  colour.  To  take 
other  instances,  the  double  Begonia  looks  as  if  it  had 
been  made  by  some  one  who  had  never  seen  a  real 
flower.  The  extra  petals  of  the  double  Day  and 
Tiger  Lilies  look  like  mere  growths  of  disease,  and 
even  the  double  China  Asters  are  usually  inferior  in 
beauty  to  the  single  flowers  of  the  old  Aster  sinensis, 
which  has  only  lately  come  into  our  gardens  again. 
It  is  almost  safe  to  say  that  we  have  enough  double 
flowers  already,  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  florists 
could  do  much  more  useful  work  in  other  ways  than 
in  doubling  any  more  of  them. 

The  colour  of  flowers  is  more  a  matter  of  individual 
taste  than  their  proportion  or  form;  but  even  with 
regard  to  colour  one  cannot  doubt  that  the  florists 
sometimes  make  mistakes.  There  is  the  case  of  the 
perennial  Larkspur,  for  instance.  The  glory  of  the 


xxxvi  INTRODUCTION 

Larkspur  is  its  blue  colour.  In  no  other  genus  of 
easily-grown  garden  plants  is  there  such  a  range  of 
blues  combined  with  such  purity;  and  the  hybridists 
have  already  shown  us  what  a  race  of  Larkspurs  might 
be  produced  if  only  they  would  give  all  their  efforts 
to  combining  purity  of  colour  with  beauty  of  form. 
Unfortunately,  it  is  very  easy  to  obtain  double  Lark- 
spurs in  which  the  form  of  the  flowers  is  spoilt;  and 
also  to  obtain  Larkspurs  tinged  or  freaked  with  mauve 
or  plum  colour.  Now  mauve  is  a  good  enough  colour 
in  its  way;  but  we  have  plenty  of  mauve  flowers. 
Also  the  combination  of  mauve  with  blue  may  have 
a  sort  of  curious  discordant  beauty;  but  it  is  a  beauty 
that  one  soon  tires  of;  whereas  pure  blue,  deep  or 
pale,  is  a  rare  colour  in  our  gardens  and  one  that 
could  never  weary  any  one.  No  garden  flower  in 
existence  is  more  beautiful  than  the  Belladonna  Lark- 
spur with  its  flowers  of  a  silvery  pale  blue  and  no 
less  perfect  in  form  than  in  colour.  But  the  Bella- 
donna is  smaller  and  more  weakly  in  constitution 
than  the  great  hybrid  Larkspurs.  Already  some  of 
these  almost  rival  it  in  colour,  and  they  might  in  time 
surpass  it.  Already,  too,  there  are  some  hybrids  of 
a  deeper  blue  almost  as  fierce  as  the  colour  of  the 
Gentians,  and  these  might  be  common  soon,  if  the 
florists  would  set  to  work  to  produce  only  pure  blue 
Larkspurs.  But  they  have  now  produced  so  many 
with  mixed  colours  that  it  becomes  more  difficult 
every  year  to  raise  pure  blue  Larkspurs  from  seed. 
The  taint  of  mauve  is  deep  in  their  blood,  and  it  would 


INTRODUCTION  xxxvii 

take  some  time  to  get  rid  of  it  even  if  every  one  tried. 
The  Larkspur  is  a  plant  of  so  stately  a  habit  that  it 
would  not  be  easy  to  make  its  flowers  too  large  so 
long  as  they  keep  their  purity  of  form.  They  have 
already  been  greatly  enlarged,  but  the  largest  are 
often  half  double  and  parti-coloured,  so  that  their 
size  is  only  a  thing  to  wonder  at,  not  to  admire. 

The  Larkspur  is  the  worst  case  that  could  be  found 
of  colour  perversion  in  plants.  Most  other  cases  are 
more  disputable.  But  many  people  who  love  strong 
wholesome  colours  cannot  but  think  that  our  Roses 
are  suffering  in  their  colour  from  the  popularity  of 
Tea  Roses  and  hybrid  Teas.  The  colours  of  most 
Tea  Roses  are  rather  faint  and  exotic.  Their  delicacy 
is  pleasing  to  a  timid  eye,  and  there  is  so  much  bad 
colour  in  our  art  now  that  most  people's  eyes  have 
grown  timid.  But  there  is  no  need  to  have  a  timid 
eye  for  flowers.  They  are  not  dyed  with  cheap  dyes, 
or  woven  of  dull  shoddy  stuff.  The  brighter  they  are 
the  better,  particularly  when  they  have  the  texture 
of  Roses.  We  need  more  pure  pink  and  deep  crimson 
in  our  Roses,  and  not  those  pinks  washed  with  yellow 
or  those  yellows  dulled  with  brown  that  are  so  com- 
mon among  the  Teas. 

Roses  are  not  plants  of  which  the  ordinary  amateur 
can  usually  raise  new  varieties  for  himself.  But  there 
are  some  plants  easily  raised  from  seed  and  very  va- 
riable, such  as  Larkspurs  and  Columbines  and  Ori- 
ental Poppies,  upon  which  any  amateur  with  room 
enough  in  his  garden  might  try  his  hand.  He  can 


xxxviii  INTRODUCTION 

hybridize  for  himself  if  he  will  take  the  trouble,  and 
with  the  plants  just  mentioned  it  is  quite  easy  to  do; 
but  in  many  cases  nature  will  hybridize  only  too 
readily  for  him,  so  that  he  has  but  to  save  the  seed 
of  any  variety  that  pleases  him  and  to  go  on  raising 
seedlings  and  pulling  up  all  inferior  ones  until  he  gets 
plants  that  seem  to  approach  his  standard  of  perfec- 
tion. If  this  were  done  intelligently  and  systemat- 
ically by  amateurs  all  over  the  country,  there  would 
soon  be  a  vast  improvement  in  our  garden  flowers; 
and  no  doubt  the  vagaries  of  the  florists  would  be 
checked.  They  provide  novelties  because  novelties 
are  popular;  and  they  work  more  or  less  at  random 
because  there  is  no  certain  taste  to  direct  them.  The 
remedy  is  in  the  hands  of  amateurs  who  in  some  cases 
can  show  what  they  want  by  producing  it  for  them- 
selves, and  in  other  cases  can  enforce  a  right  standard 
by  buying  only  plants  which  conform  to  that  stand- 
ard. 

We  are  all  too  ready  to  think  that  every  flower 
must  be  beautiful,  whether  produced  by  nature  or 
by  the  florist;  and  we  are  ready  to  think  that  every 
kind  of  garden  must  be  beautiful,  if  only  it  contains 
an  abundance  of  flowers.  The  gardener  should  grow 
his  flowers  well  —  that  goes  without  saying.  But  he 
should  choose  them  upon  clear  and  rational  principles 
of  taste,  and  he  should  plan  the  garden,  of  which 
they  are  to  be  the  ornaments,  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciples. 


STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 


BANKS  AND  SLOPES  IN  GARDENS 

FEW  people  who  have  banks  or  steep  slopes  in 
their  gardens  know  what  to  do  with  them.  They 
cannot  be  turned  into  ordinary  flower  beds  or  borders, 
because  with  their  sharp  drainage  they  do  not  afford 
enough  moisture  to  most  plants  in  the  summer;  and, 
if  they  are  covered  with  grass,  the  grass  is  difficult 
to  mow.  The  usual  plan  is  to  plant  them  anyhow, 
with  shrubs  such  as  laurels,  snowberry,  or  Berberis 
aquifolia,  with  a  carpeting  of  ivy  or  the  Rose  of  Sharon, 
and  having  planted  them  thus  to  leave  them  alone. 
Now,  whatever  may  be  said  in  favour  of  wild  gar- 
dening in  places  where  the  garden  can  hardly  be  dis- 
tinguished from  surrounding  woodland  or  meadow, 
there  is  nothing  to  be  said  for  it  where  it  is  merely 
the  result  of  ignorance  or  indifference.  Neglected 
banks  of  this  kind  are  constantly  to  be  found  in  hill- 
side gardens  right  in  front  of  the  house;  and  they 
have  scarcely  more  wild  beauty  than  a  disorderly 
rubbish  heap.  In  such  places  neglect  and  untidiness 
are  as  discomforting  as  about  the  house  itself.  Yet 
one  often  sees  a  house,  neat  and  trim  enough,  with 
all  its  neatness  and  trimness  spoilt  by  one  of  these 
unkempt  wildernesses  in  front  of  it.  Sometimes  there 
will  be  an  ailing  pine  or  fir  tree  here  and  there  on  the 
bank,  underneath  which  not  even  ivy  will  grow,  and 

3 


4  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

beyond  the  shadow  of  these  desolate  conifers  a  stunted 
thicket  of  snowberry  suckers  and  sometimes  a  straggling 
bush  of  gorse1  or  laurustinus;  while  the  ground,  if 
not  entirely  covered  with  ivy  or  Rose  of  Sharon,  will 
be  ornamented  here  and  there  with  sickly  clumps 
of  heather  or  stray  seedlings  of  the  coarsest  plants 
from  other  parts  of  the  garden.  A  spectacle  of  this 
kind  is  so  common,  that,  like  the  ugliness  of  most 
houses,  it  only  fills  us  with  a  vague  kind  of  discomfort. 
We,  no  more  than  the  owners  of  the  neglected  bank, 
attempt  to  analyse  what  is  wrong.  We  only  feel 
that  we  should  not  like  to  live  in  a  house  with  that 
kind  of  ugliness  about  it. 

Now  it  is  unjust  to  condemn  any  system  of  gar- 
dening wholesale  because  of  its  worst  examples;  but 
it  is  fair  to  point  out  that  banks  treated  in  this  way 
are  the  result  of  the  misapplication  of  the  principles 
of  landscape  gardening  to  small  gardens.  For  it  is 
such  landscape  gardening  that  has  made  people  in- 
different to  trimness  and  neatness,  or  rather  has 
given  them  an  excuse  for  evading  the  trouble  which 
is  necessary  to  keep  a  garden  neat  and  trim.  The 
owners  of  such  banks  can  always  console  themselves 
with  the  thought  that  there  is  no  formality  about 
them.  But  in  most  cases,  no  doubt,  they  make  no 
conscious  excuse  for  their  neglect.  Bad  landscape 
gardening,  the  kind  of  gardening  practised  by  the 

xFor  Gorse  the  American  gardener  may  read  Forsythia  or  Spiraea:  the 
Laurustinus  is  not  hardy  in  the  United  States  except  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  L.  Y.  K. 


BANKS  AND  SLOPES  IN  GARDENS        5 

speculative  builder,  which  naturally  always  follows 
the  line  of  least  resistance,  is  so  universal  in  most 
suburbs,  and  even  in  many  country  places,  that  peo- 
ple take  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  never  even 
ask  themselves  how  their  gardens  could  be  bettered. 
Their  eyes  have  been  spoilt,  as  the  eye  is  spoilt  by 
machine-made  ornament;  and,  even  if  they  always 
feel  a  slight  melancholy  whenever  they  come  in  at 
the  garden  gate,  they  do  -not  ask  themselves  the  reason 
of  it.  If  not  actually  contented,  they  are  resigned 
to  things  as  they  are,  just  as  they  are  resigned  to  the 
stamped  iron  ornaments  on  their  fireplaces  or  the 
gouty  legs  of  their  billiard  tables. 

And,  yet,  it  is  worth  some  trouble  and  thought  to 
make  a  garden  wear  a  smiling  face,  so  that  it  will 
give  pleasure,  not  only  to  its  owner,  but  to  every 
passer-by  who  gets  a  glimpse  of  it  from  the  road; 
and  we  are  all  inclined  to  think  well  of  the  owner  of 
a  garden  which  does  this,  and  to  thank  him  for  that 
pleasure.  Nor  are  much  trouble  and  thought,  in 
most  cases,  necessary.  It  is  very  easy  to  make  a  steep 
bank  beautiful  with  flowers  and  suitable  shrubs,  espe- 
cially if  it  slopes  towards  the  south;  and,  being  so 
easy,  it  is  strange  how  seldom  it  is  done,  even  by 
people  who  are  ready  to  spend  much  labour  and 
money  upon  other  parts  of  their  gardens.  Indeed, 
one  often  sees  the  worst  examples  of  neglected  banks 
in  gardens  with  large  greenhouses  and  with  gaudy 
displays  of  spring  and  summer  bedding.  But  these 
are  a  matter  yof  routine  and  custom.  A  steep  bank  is 


6  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

not  supposed  to  be  looked  at,  however  conspicuous 
it  may  be.  It  is  regarded  as  a  mere  nuisance  in  the 
garden;  and,  consequently,  a  nuisance  and  an  eye- 
sore it  remains. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  people  who  will  not  have 
untidiness  of  any  kind  in  their  gardens,  and  whose 
banks  are  at  least  tidy.  But  they  usually  take  a 
great  deal  of  unnecessary  trouble  in  keeping  them 
so.  Either  they  cover  them  with  grass,  or  else  they 
hide  them  with  shrubs,  probably  laurels,  which  are 
carefully  clipped  quite  level.  Now,  this  is  just  as 
troublesome  as  grass,  and  much  more  irrational. 
There  is  no  purpose  or  meaning  whatever  in  a  clipped 
shrubbery,  particularly  on  a  steep  bank.  It  does  not 
explain  itself,  like  a  hedge;  and  its  only  effect  is  to 
make  the  bank  look  a  few  feet  higher.  Laurels  suffer 
more  than  most  shrubs  from  being  clipped,  since 
their  leaves  are  too  large  to  make  a  close  even  texture 
like  that  of  a  clipped  yew,  and  they  are  beautiful 
only  when  allowed  to  blossom  and  grow  tall.  There- 
fore, a  clipped  bank  of  laurel  is  an  example  of  the 
worst  kind  of  formal  gardening,  of  formality  in  the 
treatment  of  plants,  and  not  in  design.  There  is  no 
such  formality  in  the  proper  treatment  of  a  steep 
bank,  and  much  less  labour  is  required  for  it. 

No  doubt  the  common  neglect  or  misuse  of  steep 
banks  and  slopes  has  been  caused  by  the  belief  that 
no  plants  of  any  value  will  grow  upon  them;  and 
this  belief  arose  at  a  time  when  our  gardens  were 
filled  only  with  bedding  plants,  few  of  which,  it  must 


BANKS  AND  SLOPES  IN  GARDENS        7 

be  admitted,  will  flourish  upon  a  steep  bank.  But 
we  are  no  longer  dependent  on  bedding  plants;  and, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are  many  plants  of  extreme 
beauty,  both  in  flower  and  in  growth,  which  ask  for 
nothing  better  than  a  steep  bank,  even  with  the 
lightest  and  sandiest  soil,  to  grow  upon.  There  are 
so  many,  indeed,  that  the  gardener  can  exercise  some 
choice  among  them;  and  he  will  be  wise  to  cover  his 
bank  for  the  most  part  with  plants  or  shrubs  that  are 
evergreen  and  of  a  creeping  or  lowly  habit.  A  bank 
clothed  thus  will  be  interesting,  and  even  beautiful, 
in  the  depth  of  winter,  far  more  so  than  any  border, 
and  it  will  be  full  of  blossom  both  in  the  spring  and 
for  a  great  part  of  the  summer.  The  plants  should 
be  low  growing,  because  steep  banks  are  naturally 
suited  to  low-growing  plants.  Tall  shrubs  or  plants 
look  awkward  and  out  of  scale  upon  them,  and  find  it 
difficult  to  get  enough  root  hold  to  keep  them  firm 
against  the  wind  or  the  wash  of  the  rain.  A  bank 
that  is  to  be  planted  should  always  be  well  dug,  so 
that  the  roots  of  the  plants  may  be  able  to  strike  deep 
with  as  little  resistance  as  possible;  and,  if  small 
rocks  can  be  embedded  here  and  there,  they  will  be 
of  great  service  to  the  plants  in  protecting  them  from 
drought,  and  also  to  the  bank  itself,  in  preventing  the 
soil  from  washing  away  from  it.  If  rocks  are  used, 
they  should  be  driven  downwards  into  the  bank,  as 
in  ordinary  rockwork,  and  a  plant  should  be  placed 
just  below  every  rock,  so  that  its  roots  may  have 
the  shelter  of  the  rock.  Of  course  the  more  rocks 


8  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

that  are  used  on  a  bank,  and  the  larger,  the  better. 
But  elaborate  rockwork  means  trouble  and  expense, 
and  we  are  proposing  to  make  a  bank  beautiful  with- 
out much  of  either.  Luckily  there  are  many  plants 
that  will  flourish  upon  a  bank  without  any  protection 
of  rockwork,  provided  they  do  not  suffer  from  drought 
when  first  planted.  Planting,  therefore,  should  be 
done  in  wet  weather  in  early  autumn,  especially  if 
the  soil  is  very  light.  It  should  not  be  done,  in  any 
case,  later  than  October,  as  many  of  the  most  suitable 
plants  are  apt  to  rot  off  in  the  winter  if  disturbed  too 
late. 

There  are  no  plants  which  thrive  or  look  better  on 
a  bank  than  the  stronger  species  of  wild  Pinks.  They 
are  evergreen  and  of  a  creeping  habit.  They  will 
endure  any  amount  of  drought  when  once  deeply 
rooted,  and,  though  their  flowering  period  is  not  very 
long,  their  leaves  are  beautiful  at  all  seasons.  The 
strongest  of  all  is  the  common  Dianthus  plumarius, 
a  species  of  which  there  are  an  infinite  number  of 
varieties,  and  which  has  produced  many  hybrids 
with  other  pinks,  particularly  with  the  Cheddar  pink 
(Dianthus  caesius).  This  is  much  smaller  and  slower 
in  its  growth  and  rather  more  delicate  in  constitution, 
but  it  will  usually  grow  on  a  steep  slope  looking  to 
the  south  without  much  trouble.  Other  very  easily 
grown  pinks  in  the  driest  places  are  D.  arenarius  and 
D.  petraeus,  the  English  D.  deltoides  (the  maiden 
pink),  D.  fragrans  (or  the  plant  which  usually  goes 
by  that  name  in  gardens),  and  D.  monspessulanus. 


BANKS  AND  SLOPES  IN  GARDENS       9 

All  of  these  may  be  easily  raised  from  seed,  and  that 
is  far  the  best  way  of  getting  a  large  stock.  Almost 
as  valuable  as  the  pinks  is  Aubrietia,  of  which  there 
are  many  varieties,  and  which  can  be  just  as  easily 
raised  from  seed.  Aubrietia  should  always  be  planted 
or  divided  in  early  autumn,  about  the  beginning  of 
October,  as,  although  one  of  the  easiest  of  plants,  it 
is  apt  to  resent  disturbance  at  other  times.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  mention  Arabis  except  to  say 
that  the  double  form  lasts  much  longer  than  the  single 
in  flower  and  is  even  more  vigorous.  A  taller  growing 
plant,  which  combines  beautifully  with  the  purple 
of  Aubrietia  and  the  white  of  Arabis,  is  the  yellow 
Alyssum  saxatile.  There  is  a  dwarf  form  of  this, 
very  useful  on  banks,  and  also  a  dwarf  variety  with 
pale  yellow  flowers  called  A.  saxatile  citrinum.  All 
of  these  can  be  raised  from  seed,  and  usually  come 
true.  Arenaria  montana  is  a  beautiful  plant  of  the 
pink  tribe  which  flowers  soon  after  Aubrietia.  It 
has  white  flowers,  rather  like  those  of  the  larger  stitch- 
wort,  and  the  same  creeping  habit.  Of  the  same 
family,  and  a  little  later  in  flower,  is  Gypsophila  repens, 
with  its  larger  variety  G.  repens  monstrosum;  plants 
which  will  endure  any  amount  of  drought.  The  species 
is  easily  raised  from  seed,  but  the  variety  must  be 
propagated  by  cuttings.  Also  of  the  pink  family  are 
Saponaria  ocymoides  and  Silene  maritima  flore  pleno; 
the  Saponaria  smothered  in  May  with  small  pink 
flowers,  and  for  many  months  afterwards;  the  Silene 
flowering  rather  later  with  large  white  blossoms  that 


10  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

remind  one  of  those  of  the  pink,  Mrs.  Sinkins.  The 
Saponaria  can  be  raised  from  seed.  The  Silene,  being 
double,  cannot,  but  must  be  increased  by  division  in 
early  autumn  or  by  cuttings. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  thyme  that  are  invaluable 
for  the  driest,  steepest  places  —  namely,  the  white 
and  woolly  varieties  of  the  wild  thyme  (Thymus 
serpyllum  albus  and  T.  lanuginosus).  A  little  native 
plant  as  low  in  its  growth  is  Astragalus  hypoglottis, 
with  its  more  beautiful  white  variety.  This  is  the 
smallest  of  all  the  vetches.  It  is  unfortunately  not 
evergreen,  like  the  Gypsophilas  and  Silene  maritima, 
but  otherwise  is  admirably  suited  for  steep  banks. 
A  plant  with  beautiful  silvery  leaves  and  delicate  white 
flowers  which  will  endure  any  amount  of  drought  is 
Tanacetum  argenteum  (formerly  called  Achillea),  and 
this  looks  very  well  mixed  with  clumps  of  thrift,  Ar- 
meria  maritima,  and  especially  with  the  richer  coloured 
thrift  known  as  A.  laucheana.  Both  of  these  grow 
about  8  in.  high  and  will  afford  a  little  variety  to 
the  perfectly  prostrate  plants.  The  Helianthemums 
(sun  roses)  are  little  low-growing  bushes  covered  with 
white,  pink,  yellow,  or  red  flowers.  A  variety  with 
golden  yellow  flowers  and  glaucous  leaves,  some- 
times called  H.  croceum,  makes  a  beautiful  mixture 
with  the  common  blue  flowered  Veronica  teucrium; 
and  this  may  also  be  mixed  with  the  fine  yellow  vetch 
(Coronilla  cappadocica),  which  should  be  carefully 
planted  and  not  disturbed.  Another  Veronica  less 
brilliant,  but  more  delicate  in  its  beauty,  is  V.  pec- 
tinata,  with  both  blue  and  pink  flowers  and  downy 


BANKS  AND  SLOPES  IN  GARDENS      11 

leaves.  The  creeping  Phloxes  are  not  so  patient  of 
drought  as  the  other  plants  here  mentioned,  but  they 
will  grow  well  on  a  bank  if  the  soil  is  fairly  rich,  or  if 
they  are  protected  by  a  rock  above  them;  and  they 
are  among  the  most  brilliant  and  beautiful  of  our 
spring  flowers.  Nothing,  in  fact,  can  exceed  the 
beauty  of  large  tufts  of  Phlox  Vivid  and  Phlox  Nel- 
soni,  with  their  mossy  habit  of  growth  and  their  sheets 
of  pink  and  white  flowers. 

There  are  some  southern  plants  that  do  not  thrive 
in  the  ordinary  border,  but  flourish  amazingly  on 
very  hot  sandy  banks  looking  full  south.  Among 
these  are  Calandrinia  umbellata,  a  little  plant  of  the 
purslane  tribe,  with  flowers  of  the  most  brilliant  crim- 
son magenta  colour.  This  should  be  raised  from  seed, 
and  it  will  usually  seed  itself  freely  every  year.  Cal- 
lirhoe  involucrata  is  another  plant  of  the  same  habits; 
it  can  be  raised  from  seed  to  flower  the  same  year, 
and  is  of  rapid  growth,  spreading  over  a  great  space 
of  ground.  It  flowers  for  a  long  time,  and  often  dies 
after  flowering;  but  this  matters  little,  as  it  can  be 
so  easily  reproduced.  Several  of  the  Aethionemas 
also  will  grow  well  on  dry  sunny  banks,  particularly 
A.  grandiflorum,  A.  pulchellum,  and  A.  coridifolium. 
These  are  true  rock  plants,  near  to  candytuft,  but 
with  glaucous  leaves  and  delicate  pink  flowers,  and 
they  are  the  better  for  a  few  small  rocks  about  them. 
They  should  be  planted  in  spring,  or,  if  raised  from 
spring-sown  seed,  as  soon  in  the  summer  as  they  are 
fit  to  move. 

Many  bulbs  will  thrive  on  a  steep  dry  slope,  partic- 


12  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

ularly  the  Squills  and  Chionodoxas,  if  planted  deep, 
and  there  is  no  reason  why  there  should  not  also  be 
Crocuses,  and  even  the  dwarf er  Tulips.  Bulbs  when 
they  die  down  leave  a  bare  space  for  most  of  the 
summer,  and  therefore  it  is  well  to  carpet  them  with 
creeping  plants  that  will  not  interfere  with  their 
growth.  Nothing  is  so  suitable  for  the  purpose  as 
several  species  of  Stonecrop,  in  particular  Sedum 
album,  which  will  grow  anywhere,  and  is  beautiful 
in  and  out  of  flower. 

The  surface  of  the  bank  may  also  be  varied  here 
and  there  with  low-growing  shrubs,  and  these  are 
much  better  for  the  purpose  than  tall  plants,  as  they 
do  not  look  out  of  scale  with  the  creeping  plants 
about  them.  But  the  shrubs  should  be  chosen  with 
some  care,  and  none  of  them  should  be  of  a  straggling 
habit  of  growth,  or  of  a  kind  likely  to  suffer  from 
drought;  for  nothing  is  uglier  in  any  part  of  the  gar- 
den than  a  sickly  shrub.  Luckily  there  are  a  good 
many  shrubs  suitable  for  the  purpose.  The  lowest 
growing  of  all  are  some  of  the  prostrate  Artemisias 
and  brooms.  Of  the  Artemisias,  A.  sericea  is  the  best, 
covering  the  ground  with  a  carpet  of  beautiful  sil- 
very leaves  and  growing  at  a  great  pace.  It  is  far 
more  robust  than  most  of  the  other  creeping  species. 
Among  the  brooms  are  Cytisus  Ardoini,  a  very  dwarf 
plant  with  yellow  flowers,  C.  Kewensis,  a  hybrid  also 
prostrate  with  paler  flowers  and  rather  larger  in  all 
its  parts,  C.  Schipkaensis,  a  small  and  beautiful  white 
flowered  broom,  the  double  form  of  the  native  Genista 


BANKS  AND  SLOPES  IN  GARDENS      13 

tinctoria,  and  also  the  native  Genista  pilosa.  These 
are  all  very  small  shrubs  growing  naturally  in  the 
driest  places.  Most  of  the  Cistuses  are  rather  large 
for  planting  on  banks;  but  Cistus  florentinus,  C. 
lusitanicus,  and  C.  formosus  are  small  enough  and 
may  be  kept  compact  by  cutting  back.  Olearia  stel- 
lata  (Eurybria  gunniana)  is  the  smallest  of  the  Olearias 
and  also  may  be  cut  back  after  flowering  with  ad- 
vantage. This  and  the  Cistuses  are  flowering  shrubs 
of  the  greatest  beauty.  There  is  also  a  dwarf  form 
of  Lavender  very  suitable  for  banks,  and  a  prostrate 
form  of  the  common  Rosemary,  a  most  beautiful  and 
valuable  shrub.  Santolina  incana  and  its  smaller 
variety,  incana  nana,  look  their  best  on  banks  of  the 
poorest  soil,  and  should  be  cut  down  every  two  years 
or  so  in  spring.1 

All  the  plants  and  shrubs  which  we  have  mentioned 
will  endure  any  amount  of  drought  when  established, 

1  Of  the  several  species  of  Cytisus  mentioned  here  C.  Schipkaensis  may 
be  found  in  Bailey's  new  Cyclopedia  under  Cytisus  No.  2,  C.  leucanthus 
Schipkaensis.  Cytisus  florentinus  is  possibly  a  mistake  for  Genista  florida, 
see  under  Genista  No.  12;  there  is  no  Cytisus  florentinus  known  in  botan- 
ical literature.  C.  lusitanicus  is  apparently  Genista  lusitanica,  see  Genista, 
suppl.  list.  C.  formosus  is  possibly  Genista  formosa  which  is  Cytisus 
racemosus,  see  No.  16.  C.  pilosa  is  Genista  pilosa,  see  No.  15.  Only  one 
of  these  species  is  offered  in  American  trade  catalogues,  C.  Schipkaensis. 
This  and  Genista  pilosa  are  hardy  in  the  latitude  of  Boston.  The  others 
could  probably  be  grown  only  in  California  and  the  South.  The  same  is 
true  of  Olearia  stellata  which  is  apparently  not  sold  hi  the  United  States. 

The  following  may  be  suggested  as  American  substitutes  for  the  shrubs 
mentioned  above:  Cotoneasters  in  their  evergreen  dwarf  forms,  Berberis 
aquifolia,  Ceanothus,  Daphne,  Evonymus  radicans,  especially  var.  vegeta, 
Rhododendron  Wilsonianum  punctatum,  Andromeda,  Leucothoe,  Hyperi- 
cum  calycimum,  Kalmia  angustifolia,  Lonicera  halliana,  Rosa  wichuriana, 
and  Xanthoriza.  L.  Y.  K. 


14  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

and  they  all  establish  themselves  very  quickly.  Many 
others  might  be  named  that  are  only  a  little  more 
impatient  of  drought,  and  will  grow  well  enough  on 
a  bank  of  good  soil.  But  we  have  given  enough  to 
show  that  any  bank  may  be  made  beautiful,  however 
unpromising  it  may  look,  if  once  it  is  cleared  of  rub- 
bish. It  is  useless,  however,  to  attempt  to  grow  any- 
thing on  a  bank  shaded  with  pine-trees  or  filled  with 
straggling  hungry  shrubs.  All  these  must  be  cleared 
away  before  anything  can  be  done  with  it;  and, 
when  it  is  ready  to  be  planted,  the  planting  should 
be  done  with  some  taste  and  judgment,  the  plants 
being  arranged  in  drifts  or  masses,  each  drift  at  its 
extremities  being  interwoven  with  a  drift  of  another 
species.  The  shrubs  also  should  be  massed  here  and 
there  in  places  where  they  will  seem  to  grow  most 
naturally,  and  not  aimlessly  dotted  about.  By  these 
means  many  a  bank  which  is  now  a  mere  eyesore 
might  be  made  the  most  interesting  and  beautiful 
part  of  the  garden,  with  very  little  trouble  or  ex- 
pense. 


THE  NAMES  OF  FLOWERS 

PEOPLE  who  are  not  gardeners  often  complain 
that  the  names  of  unfamiliar  flowers  are  apt  to 
be  ugly,  inappropriate,  and  difficult  to  remember. 
A  beautiful  pink  trumpet-shaped  blossom  catches 
their  eye  and  they  ask  you  the  name  of  it.  When 
you  tell  them  Incarvillea  Delavayi,  they  are  not 
satisfied.1  They  demand  an  English  name,  a  name 
appropriate  to  its  beauties,  and  one  that  will  call 
them  to  mind  by  its  mere  look  and  sound;  a  name, 
in  fact,  like  daffodil  or  honeysuckle.  They  forget, 
or  they  do  not  know,  that  all  flowers,  even  those 
which  have  the  prettiest  fancy  names,  have  also 
business  names  for  purposes  of  identification,  which 
are  often  no  prettier  and  no  more  significant  than 
Incarvillea  Delavayi  itself.  Honeysuckle,  for  in- 
stance, when  botanists  talk  about  it,  becomes  Loni- 
cera.  The  buttercup  is  Ranunculus  acris  and  the 
daisy  Bellis  perennis.  Now  honeysuckle  was  prob- 
ably called  honeysuckle  in  England  long  before  it 
got  the  name  of  Lonicera;  but  newly  discovered 
plants  do  not  carry  pretty  names  on  collars  round 
their  necks.  Names  have  to  be  invented  for  them  for 
purposes  of  identification;  names,  too,  that  will  serve 

1 A  new  fern  at  the  Holland  House  Show  (London),  July,  1916,  is  thus  chris- 
tened: Polystichum  angulare  divisilobum  plumosum  Perry's  No.  1.    L.  Y.  K. 

15 


16  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

for  every  language;  and  so  the  person  who  christens 
a  new  plant,  whether  the  discoverer  or  another,  does 
not  usually  tax  his  fancy  much  in  doing  so.  Some- 
times he  does  supply  it  with  a  compound  descriptive 
word  from  the  Greek,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Chionodoxa, 
which  may,  perhaps,  in  time  come  to  be  known  as 
Glory  of  the  Snow  or  Snow-glory.  But  he  is  apt  in 
naming  it  to  pay  a  compliment  to  some  botanical 
friend  or  to  commemorate  his  own  achievement; 
and  thus  we  get  names  like  Brugmansia  and  Bou- 
gainvillea,  and  Tschichatchewia,  names  which  seem 
to  hang  like  millstones  round  the  necks  of  their  un- 
fortunate owners.  But  even  these  seem  worse  than 
they  are  to  our  insular  prejudice.  No  doubt  Tschi- 
chatchewia sounds  quite  simple  and  pretty  to  a  Pole; 
and  we  cannot  expect  all  new  plants  to  bear  English- 
sounding  names,  unless  Englishmen  discover  them  all. 
Besides,  the  remedy  is  in  our  own  hands.  Our  fathers 
invented  English  names  for  the  flowers  they  knew, 
and  we  must  do  the  same  for  the  flowers  that  were 
unknown  to  them,  if  we  dislike  the  names  the  botan- 
ists give  them.  Until  we  have  done  that,  we  must 
be  content  to  call  a  Brugmansia  a  Brugmansia  (or 
rather  a  Datura,  for  that  is  its  present  title),  however 
difficult  we  find  it  to  "tongue"  the  word.  In  fact  it 
would  be  well,  perhaps,  if  all  new  flowers  were  named 
after  Poles,  so  that  the  difficulty  of  remembering, 
spelling,  and  pronouncing  them  might  act  as  a  spur 
to  the  vernacular  invention.  But,  unfortunately,  the 
vernacular  invention  seems  nowadays  to  be  so  slug- 


THE  NAMES  OF  FLOWERS  17 

gish  that  nothing  will  stimulate  it.  Eschscholtzia  is  a 
word  that  no  one  surely  would  use  if  he  could 
help  it;  and  yet  Eschscholtzias  have  been  known  so 
long  that  they  seem  quite  old-fashioned  flowers;  and 
no  one,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  even  attempted  to 
find  a  name  for  them  with  less  than  six  consonants  in 
a  row.  The  Fuchsia,  the  Dahlia,  and  the  Wistaria 
are  even  more  familiar,  but  they  remain  still  com- 
memorative of  Messrs.  Fuchs,  Dahl,  and  Wistar; 
and  the  nearest  we  have  got  towards  Anglicizing  them 
is  to  mispronounce  them. 

No  doubt  the  chief  reason  why  we  do  not  find  Eng- 
lish names  for  our  new  flowers  is  that  we  are  under 
no  absolute  compulsion  to  do  so.  They  have  their 
botanical  names  when  we  first  know  them,  and  so 
we  put  up  with  them  as  a  stopgap.  Then  by  use  and 
wont  we  come  to  forget  that  they  are  stopgaps;  and 
in  time  Dahlia  seems  just  as  fit  and  proper  a  name 
for  one  plant  as  Daffodil  for  another.  But,  even  if 
English  names  are  invented  for  new  plants,  the  com- 
petition of  the  botanical  name  makes  it  difficult  for 
them  to  get  currency.  For  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  botanical  name  is  universal,  and  in  most 
cases  puts  the  identity  of  a  plant  beyond  all  doubt, 
whereas  some  even  of  our  oldest  popular  names,  such 
as  Gillyflower,  Fair  Maids  of  France,  and  Bachelor's 
Buttons,  are  applied  to  two  or  more  quite  different 
plants.  Also  the  botanical  name  identifies  the  species, 
which  the  popular  name  often  fails  to  do.  Thus,  if 
you  order  a  certain  plant  from  a  nurseryman,  and  in 


18  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

doing  so  call  it  Zauschneria  California,  the  nursery- 
man will  know  at  once  what  you  mean;  whereas,  if 
you  call  it  California  Fuchsia,  or  humming-bird  flower, 
two  praiseworthy  attempts  at  an  English  name,  he 
is  pretty  sure  not  to  take  your  meaning.  The  object 
of  botanical  names  is  scientific  precision,  which  they 
certainly  provide;  and  so  where  scientific  precision  is 
needed  they  are  usually  indispensable.  But,  for  all 
that,  the  want  of  beautiful  English  names  to  many 
beautiful  flowers  seems  a  reproach  to  their  beauty, 
and  to  stamp  them  as  aliens  and  not  true  citizens  of 
our  gardens.  And  the  question  is,  How  are  we  to  find 
beautiful  English  names  for  them?  The  multitude 
of  modern  discoveries  would  make  it  difficult  to  keep 
pace  with  them,  even  if  we  tried;  and  we  certainly 
do  not  try  very  hard.  But  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  beautiful  old  names  probably  took  hundreds 
of  years  to  grow,  like  other  words.  They  were  some- 
times corruptions  of  French  and  Latin  names,  the 
corruption  no  doubt  maintaining  itself  because  of 
some  appropriate  beauty  in  its  sound  or  some  sug- 
gestion of  a  new  meaning.  Gillyflower,  for  instance, 
is  said  to  have  been  derived  from  Caryophyllus, 
Dianthus  caryophyllus  being  the  specific  name  of 
the  carnation,  or  rather  of  the  pink,  from  which  the 
carnation  has  been  developed.  Gillyflower  is  a  pretty- 
sounding  word,  but  it  has  no  particular  meaning. 
In  the  seventeenth  century,  however,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  corrupt  the  name  further  into  July- 
flower  because  the  carnation  flowers  in  July.  But 


THE  NAMES  OF  FLOWERS  19 

this  corruption,  for  some  reason  or  other,  did  not 
stick.  The  modern  name  carnation  is  said  to  have 
been  originally  only  an  adjective  applied  to  certain 
Gillyflowers,  although  Parkinson  uses  it  as  an  alter- 
native to  Gillyflowers,  or,  as  he  calls  them,  gillo- 
flowers.  No  doubt  it  has  ousted  Gillyflower  because 
that  name  was  applied  to  other  plants,  as,  for  instance, 
Wallflowers  (which  still  keep  it),  Stocks,  Rockets, 
and  African  Marigolds.  The  most  beautiful  names 
of  flowers  have  grown  like  folk-songs  or  ballad  poetry; 
and  there  is  a  kind  of  natural  and  unconscious  poetry 
in  them  full  of  the  delight  which  generations  of  men 
have  taken  in  the  flowers  themselves.  But  sometimes 
the  same  flower  will  have  two  different  names,  one 
poetic  and  one  expressing  the  Anglo-Saxon  liking  for 
nicknames.  Thus  Love  in  a  Mist  has  also  the  name 
of  Devil  in  a  Bush,  and  Bleeding  Heart  (Dicentra) 
is,  or  used  to  be,  called  Dutchman's  Breeches. 

We  cannot  expect  to  make  beautiful  names  for 
new  flowers  off-hand;  in  such  matters  the  invention 
of  individuals  will  never  equal  the  invention  of  genera- 
tions, nor  can  it  hope  to  get  an  immediate  currency, 
especially  with  the  competition  of  botanical  names. 
Still,  it  is  desirable  that  some  effort  should  be  made 
to  find  English  names  for  our  newer  flowers,  and  to 
use  them  when  found;  for  there  is  a  danger  that  we 
shall  grow  too  content  with  the  botanical  names, 
and  apply  them  even  to  flowers  which  have  beautiful 
and  well-established  English  names  of  their  own. 
Already  many  good  old  names  have  fallen  out  of  use 


20  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

and  others  seem  to  be  going.  There  is,  for  instance, 
a  growing  tendency  to  call  perennial  Larkspurs  Delphi- 
niums; and  the  name  Columbine,  beautiful  alike  in 
sound  and  sense,  and  one  that  can  be  used  without 
any  fear  of  ambiguity,  is  giving  way  to  Aquilegia. 
Most  people  now  say  Sedum  instead  of  Stonecrop, 
even  in  the  case  of  the  species  to  which  the  English 
name  can  be  given  with  perfect  propriety,  and  many 
call  Snapdragons  Antirrhinums.  Often,  of  course,  a 
particular  species  can  be  indicated  only  by  the  bo- 
tanical name;  but  that  is  no  reason  for  using  the 
botanical  name  where  the  English  name  can  be  used 
without  fear  of  error.  If  one  wished,  for  instance,  to 
speak  of  Antirrhinum  asarina,  one  would  have  to 
call  it  by  that  name;  but  Snapdragon  will  serve  for 
Antirrhinum  ma  jus,  indeed,  it  is  a  more  exact  term 
than  the  generic  name  of  Antirrhinum. 

The  rage  for  Latin  names  has  gone  so  far  that  you 
will  now  sometimes  see  Lilies  called  Liliums  by  people 
who  write  about  them  in  the  gardening  papers.  Their 
defence,  no  doubt,  would  be  that  some  plants  which 
do  not  belong  to  the  lily  genus  are  also  called  lilies; 
but  since  we  have  Primrose  and  the  Rose  of  Sharon, 
this  would  be  a  reason  for  calling  Roses  Rosas;  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  we  shall  never  come  to  that. 
But,  since  there  is  such  a  strong  tendency  towards 
the  unnecessary  use  of  botanical  terms,  it  can  be 
checked  only  by  a  conscious  effort,  and  that  effort 
ought  to  be  made.  A  great  deal  could  be  done  by 
writers  both  of  gardening  books  and  in  the  garden- 


THE  NAMES  OF  FLOWERS  21 

ing  papers  if  they  would  use  English  names  as  much 
as  possible,  giving  the  botanical  name  where  there 
is  any  fear  of  ambiguity,  and,  even  when  the  bo- 
tanical name  is  the  one  in  general  use,  adding  the 
English  name,  if  one  exists.  By  this  means  English 
names  in  common  use  might  be  maintained,  some 
that  have  fallen  out  of  use  might  be  revived,  and  some 
newly  invented  for  new  flowers  might  gain  currency. 
The  nurserymen  also  might  help,  by  always  adding 
English  names,  where  they  exist,  to  the  botanical 
names  in  their  catalogues.  Some  of  them  already 
do  this,  and  in  some  gardening  books  a  praiseworthy 
effort  is  made  to  keep  up  the  old  English  names,  and 
even  to  introduce  new  ones.  Mr.  Robinson,  for  in- 
stance, in  his  "English  Flower  Garden,"  always 
gives  an  English  name  when  he  can,  even  to  newly 
introduced  plants  and  to  different  species;  sometimes 
by  the  mere  process  of  translation,  which  is  often  the 
only  one  possible.  For  instance,  he  calls  Sempervivum 
arenarium  the  Sand  Houseleek;  and  there  is  no  reason 
whatever  why  it  should  not  be  generally  known  by 
that  name,  or  why  Arenaria  montana  should  not  be 
called  Mountain  Sandwort,  or  Tigridia  the  Tiger 
Flower.  When  entirely  new  names  have  to  be  in- 
vented, it  is  a  more  difficult  matter.  People  are  apt 
to  be  shy  of  using  sentimental  names,  however  pretty, 
unless  they  are  quite  familiar,  like  Forget-me-not; 
and  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  descriptive  name  for  a  pretty 
flower  without  making  it  a  little  sentimental.  Noth- 
ing could  be  prettier  than  the  name  "Angels'  tears" 


22  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

for  Narcissus  triandrus  albus,  but  it  has  not  come 
into  general  use,  although  some  writers  have  per- 
severed with  it.  No  doubt  it  is  too  sentimental. 
Then  there  is  Foam  Flower  for  Tiarella  cordifolia,  an- 
other pretty  name  and  quite  appropriate,  but  again, 
perhaps,  rather  too  sentimental.  At  any  rate,  it  has 
not  taken  root.  On  the  other  hand,  Rockspray  for 
Cotoneaster  is  a  name  so  descriptive  and  so  well  sound- 
ing that  every  one  ought  to  use  it;  yet  it  is  not  used. 
Other  descriptive  or  half-descriptive  names  fail  from 
being  too  cumbrous.  Thus  we  cannot  expect  that  the 
name  "twin-leaved  lily  of  the  valley"  will  stick  to 
Maianthemum  bifolium,  even  though  the  alternative 
is  no  less  cumbrous.  But  it  is  no  use  being  discouraged 
by  the  failure  either  of  good  names  or  of  names  less 
good.  Only  persistency  in  the  use  of  them  will  give 
them  a  chance,  and  only  by  such  persistency  can  it  be 
proved  whether  or  not  they  deserve  to  survive.  Even 
a  name  too  sentimental  is  better  than  a  mere  botan- 
ical term;  and,  if  there  is  a  general  tendency  to  use 
English  names,  invention  may  be  quickened,  and  in 
some  cases  alternative  names  may  have  to  struggle 
for  the  mastery.  In  such  a  case  we  should  have  some 
approach  to  natural  selection,  the  best  possible  means 
of  obtaining  good  names. 

In  many  cases,  however,  what  is  required  is  not 
invention,  but  merely  revival,  and  this  ought  to  be 
far  easier;  for  there  are  many  old  names  now  fallen 
out  of  use  that  ought  to  take  the  fancy  of  any  one 
who  hears  them,  as,  for  instance,  Virgin's  Bower  and 


THE  NAMES  OF  FLOWERS  23 

/ 

Lady's  Bower  for  Clematis  flammula  and  C.  montana, 
Cardinal's  Flower  for  Lobelia  cardinalis,  Goldilocks 
for  Helichrysum,  Lady's  Laces  for  variegated  grass, 
Pearls  of  Spain  for  the  white  Grape  Hyacinth,  and 
Rosaruby  for  the  red  Adonis.  Many  of  these  names 
should  serve  as  models  for  new  inventions,  partic- 
ularly in  the  richness  and  appropriateness  of  their 
sound;  for  it  is  sound  probably  that  keeps  a  name  in 
common  speech  more  than  any  other  quality;  and 
it  is  only  through  too  much  reading  that  people  grow 
indifferent  to  the  sound  of  words.  Goldilocks  and 
Rosaruby  are  a  delight  to  the  ear.  They  can  only 
have  fallen  out  of  use  because  they  belonged  to  flowers 
not  much  grown  nowadays.  As  for  Pearls  of  Spain, 
it  is  a  delight  both  to  the  ear  and  to  the  mind,  and 
worthy  of  one  of  the  most  exquisite  of  all  spring 
flowers. 

Even  in  the  naming  of  florists'  varieties  some  fancy 
used  to  be  exercised  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
particularly  in  the  case  of  carnations.  There  were 
red  Hulos,  and  Chrystallines,  and  Striped  Savages, 
and  Cambersines,  and  Lusty  Gallants,  and  Pale 
Pageants,  and  Infantas,  and  Feathered  Tawnies. 
And  there  is  no  reason  why  florists  now  should  not 
show  a  little  more  spirit  and  invention  in  giving  names 
to  their  novelties.  Florists'  varieties  do  not  have 
botanical  names;  therefore,  the  florist  has  a  free 
choice,  and  no  excuse  if  his  names  are  meaningless  or 
ugly.  Yet  they  are  usually  both.  What  is  to  be  said 
for  the  name  Blairii  2,  given  to  an  excellent  old  rose, 


24  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

or  Gruss  an  Teplitz,  given  to  an  excellent  new  one? 
The  habit  of  calling  flowers  after  people  is  a  very  dull 
one  and  ought  to  be  discouraged.  All  that  can  be  said 
for  it  is  that  the  names  of  people  do  not  need  to  be 
translated.  But  this  would  apply  also  to  classical 
names,  which  are  far  less  used  than  they  might  be. 
Indeed,  they  are  used  scarcely  at  all.  But,  even  if  a 
pretty  florists'  name  had  to  be  translated  it  would 
not  matter  much,  provided  it  was  short  and  descrip- 
tive. Daffodils  in  this  respect  are  better  treated  than 
roses;  for  instance,  Lucifer  is  a  good  name  for  the 
glowing  flower  to  which  it  is  given;  and  Sunset  is 
another.  But  there  are  some  pretty  names  even 
among  roses,  as,  for  instance,  Irish  Glory  and  Irish 
Modesty  for  the  beautiful  Single  Teas  which  have 
lately  come  from  Ireland.  Even  humorous  names 
are  better  than  dull  ones,  and  the  gardener  is  to  be 
commended  who  christened  a  new  cucumber  "Ten- 
der and  True,"  when  he  might  have  called  it  Lord 
Kitchener  or  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman. 


GARDENING  IN  HEAVY  SOILS 

THE  problems  of  gardening  in  heavy  soils  are 
naturally  quite  different  from  those  of  gar- 
dening in  light  soils;  for  whereas  the  chief  enemy  of 
plants  in  light  soils  is  drought  and  heat  in  summer, 
their  chief  enemy  in  heavy  soils  is  damp  and  cold  in 
winter.  Climate  is  not  the  only  condition  which  af- 
fects the  hardiness  of  plants;  soil  has  also  to  be  con- 
sidered; and  many  plants  that  are  hardy  on  a  light 
sandy  soil  are  not  hardy  on  a  stiff  clay,  although  the 
climate  may  be  no  colder.  The  chief  reason  of  this 
is  that  moisture  on  a  stiff  clay  does  not  drain  away 
quickly,  but  remains  about  the  roots  and  even  about 
the  crowns  of  plants,  so  that  the  ground  is  very  cold 
when  it  is  frozen  and,  even  when  it  is  not  frozen,  is 
all  through  the  winter  so  charged  with  damp  that 
many  plants  are  liable  to  rot  off  in  it.  It  follows  from 
this  that  drainage  is  the  chief  essential  to  success  in 
a  stiff  soil;  and  it  is  necessary  not  merely  to  protect 
the  plants  from  damp  and  cold,  but  also  to  make  the 
ground  fertile,  for  if  the  upper  layer  of  the  soil  is 
charged  with  water,  air  cannot  get  into  it,  and  with- 
out air  those  processes  of  decomposition  which  make 
soil  fertile  are  impossible. 

No  one,   therefore,   whose  garden  consists  of  stiff 
clay  can  hope  to  grow  any  but  the  coarsest  and  strong- 

25 


26  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

est  plants  in  it  without  good  drainage.  And  drainage 
is  not  a  matter  merely  of  carrying  the  water  away, 
as  it  is  carried  away  from  the  roof  of  a  house;  but 
rather  of  carrying  it  down  far  enough  below  the  plants 
to  prevent  their  suffering  from  it  in  cold  and  wet 
winters;  for  there  may  come  a  time,  in  hot  and  dry 
summers,  when  even  in  a  stiff  clay  the  plants  will 
need  all  the  moisture  they  can  get.  Indeed,  plants 
suffer  from  a  prolonged  drought  in  a  stiff  clay  as  much 
as  in  light  sandy  soil,  or  even  more,  for  the  clay,  if 
it  is  in  a  crude  natural  state,  bakes  and  cracks,  in 
some  places  pressing  tightly  round  the  roots  of  the 
plants,  in  others  exposing  them  to  the  full  heat  of  the 
sun.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  it  is  not  enough  to 
drain  the  moisture  away  from  the  soil  by  means  of 
pipes,  even  if  that  could  be  done  in  a  soil  which  can 
be  deprived  of  moisture  only  by  the  heat  of  the  sun. 
What  is  needed  is  to  change  the  nature  of  the  soil  it- 
self, so  that  moisture  will  have  a  free  passage  through 
it.  Without  such  a  change,  even  the  use  of  drainage 
in  the  shape  of  broken  bricks,  rubble,  &c.,  some  feet 
below  the  surface  is  not  a  complete  remedy,  for  the 
soil  above  will  still  hold  a  great  deal  of  moisture  if 
its  consistency  is  not  altered.  The  first  step  towards 
doing  this  is  to  break  it  up  thoroughly  by  means  of 
deep  digging.  Deep  digging  is  necessary  on  a  light 
soil,  but  it  is  even  more  necessary  on  a  heavy  one, 
for  it  is  one  of  the  chief  means  of  introducing  air  into 
the  ground  and  thus  of  making  it  fertile,  and  also  of 
enabling  the  water  to  find  a  free  passage  through  it. 


GARDENING  IN  HEAVY  SOILS          27 

But  the  effects  of  deep  digging  upon  a  stiff  clay  are 
only  transient,  unless  the  clay  is  mixed  with  other 
matter  which  will  prevent  it  from  clogging  with  the 
damp  and  caking  with  the  heat.  It  must  be  made 
porous  by  the  addition  of  other  more  porous  sub- 
stances which  will  both  relieve  it  of  moisture  and 
add  to  its  fertility.  Of  these  the  most  valuable  are 
rubble  and  humus  —  that  is  to  say,  soil  consisting 
of  decayed  vegetable  matter  and,  in  particular,  leaf 
mould.  There  are,  of  course,  many  kinds  of  rubble, 
but  the  best  of  all  is  mortar  rubble,  for  not  only  is  it 
very  gritty,  but  it  is  also  full  of  lime,  which  in  itself 
is  a  most  valuable  form  of  plant  food*  Many  people 
use  cinders,  and  these  certainly  increase  the  porosity 
of  the  soil,  but  unfortunately  they  also  impoverish 
it,  as  they  contain  no  kind  of  nourishment  whatever. 
Mortar  rubble,  therefore,  should  be  used,  if  possible; 
and  it  may  be  very  plentifully  mixed  with  a  stiff  clay 
soil  with  the  best  results  for  all  except  the  few  plants, 
such  as  Rhododendrons  and  Azaleas,  and  Kalmias, 
to  which  lime  is  poison.  Humus  does  not,  of  course, 
increase  the  porosity  of  the  soil  so  much  as  rubble, 
but  it  does  make  it  more  porous  and  also  warmer, 
and  it  is  a  most  valuable  and  in  a  stiff  clay  an  almost 
essential  plant  food.  The  rubble  and  the  humus 
should  be  mixed  together  and  dug  well  into  the  clay, 
so  that  the  soil  for  2  ft.  at  least  is  permeated  with 
them.  If  further  drainage  is  necessary  it  should  con- 
sist of  a  foot  or  so  of  broken  bricks,  &c.,  the  larger 
the  better,  about  2^  ft.  below  the  surface  of  the 


28  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

soil.  To  prepare  a  border  in  this  way  entails  a  good 
deal  of  trouble  and  some  expense,  but  when  once  it 
is  done  the  border  will  need  but  little  attention  for 
some  years  and  the  plants  will  not  need  to  be  renewed 
constantly. 

It  is  only  in  a  border  so  prepared  that  a  great  num- 
ber of  plants  can  be  satisfactorily  grown  on  a  stiff 
clay  soil,  and,  further,  it  is  only  in  such  a  border  that 
farmyard  manure  can  be  employed  so  as  to  give  the 
best  results.  Manure,  of  course,  adds  to  the  fertility 
of  a  heavy  soil  and  also,  to  some  extent,  increases  its 
porosity;  but  it  is  also  apt  to  rot  the  roots  of  plants 
that  come  in  contact  with  it  in  cold,  wet  weather, 
and  to  turn  sour  and  breed  noxious  gases,  while  its 
juices  can  only  be  thoroughly  distributed  through 
clay  when  it  is  made  porous. 

Of  course,  many  people  will  not  be  at  the  trouble 
of  preparing  a  border  thus;  but  even  so  they  may 
protect  their  plants  from  some  of  the  dangers  of  damp 
and  cold  by  thorough  deep  digging,  and  also  by  plac- 
ing some  drainage  below  the  roots  of  particular  plants 
and  surrounding  these  roots  with  humus  and  rubble. 
Thus  they  will  be  protected  during  the  winter  from 
the  immediate  contact  of  the  clay.  Many  plants  will 
thrive  on  a  stiff  clay,  which  would  otherwise  damp 
off  in  the  winter,  if  they  are  planted  in  a  border  raised 
half  a  foot  or  a  foot  above  the  general  level  of  the 
soil.  Such  a  border  is  particularly  useful  for  the 
culture  of  bulbs,  such  as  Tulips  and  Daffodils,  and  of 
those  low-growing  plants  which  thrive  by  nature 


GARDENING  IN  HEAVY  SOILS          29 

among  rocks,  such  as  Aubretia,  the  creeping  Phloxes, 
and  many  kinds  of  Pinks,  including  Carnations. 
Such  a  border  is  not  difficult  to  make,  especially  if  it 
is  enclosed  by  fairly  large  rocks  shaped  like  tiles  and 
driven  firmly  into  the  ground;  and  it  is  one  of  the 
easiest  means  of  providing  drainage,  especially  for 
shallow-rooting  plants.  In  a  light  soil  it  is  well  to 
plant,  if  possible,  in  the  autumn,  so  that  the  plants 
may  be  thoroughly  established  before  the  summer 
droughts;  but  in  a  stiff  clay  many  plants  should  be 
planted  in  the  spring,  since  winter  damp  is  a  greater 
danger  to  them  than  summer  drought.  This  applies, 
perhaps,  even  to  Roses,  unless  the  soil  can  be  thor- 
oughly prepared  for  them  beforehand,  and  to  all  ex- 
cept the  hardiest  shrubs.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that 
with  a  favourable  winter  Roses  will  survive  even  in 
the  stiffest  clay,  and  that  in  such  a  case  they  will  do 
much  better  their  first  summer  than  if  they  are  planted 
in  the  spring;  but  if  the  winter  is  very  severe  they 
are  likely  to  go  off  wholesale.  If  the  gardener  likes  to 
take  that  risk,  he  can  plant  in  the  autumn,  but  not 
later  than  the  beginning  of  November;  if  he  prefers 
safety,  he  will  plant  in  early  spring,  as  soon  as  all 
danger  of  severe  frosts  seems  to  be  over.  Most  her- 
baceous plants  can  be  safely  planted  in  the  spring, 
and  some,  in  a  stiff  clay,  can  only  then  be  safely 
planted.  Larkspurs  and  phloxes,  for  instance,  are  very 
apt  to  go  off  if  planted  in  autumn.1  Even  plants 

1  Exception  must  be  taken  to  the  application  of  this  statement  to  American 
gardens;  Phloxes  do  well  in  the  United  States  when  autumn-planted, 
Larkspurs  also  when  on  well-drained  soil.  L.  Y.  K. 


30  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

like  Paeonies  and  German  Irises,  which  usually  will 
not  flower  well  the  same  year  if  planted  in  spring, 
are  best  so  planted  in  a  very  stiff  clay.  As  in  the 
case  of  Roses,  they  may  do  nothing  the  first  year, 
but  they  are  well  established  before  the  winter  comes. 
In  any  case,  if  autumn  planting  is  done  at  all  with 
herbaceous  plants,  it  should  be  done  as  early  as  pos- 
sible, and  it  can  be  done  earlier  in  heavy  than  in  light 
soils,  because  there  is  less  danger  of  drought.  Speak- 
ing generally,  deep-rooting  plants  are  better  moved 
in  autumn  and  shallow-rooting  in  spring,  as  the  shal- 
low-rooters recover  most  quickly  from  disturbance. 
But  in  a  light  soil  many  shallow-rooting  plants  are 
best  moved  in  the  autumn,  as  there  is  no  fear  of  their 
perishing  from  winter  cold  and  damp,  whereas  if 
moved  in  spring  they  may  not  recover  before  a  long 
drought  begins.  Such  plants  can  usually  be  moved 
in  spring  with  perfect  safety  in  a  stiff  soil;  whereas 
a  good  many  deep-rooting  plants  in  such  a  soil  will 
succumb  to  winter  cold  and  damp  if  moved  in  au- 
tumn. 

Speaking  generally,  again,  deep-rooting  plants  are 
most  suitable  to  light  soils,  in  which  their  roots  protect 
them  from  drought,  while  shallow-rooting  plants  do 
best  in  heavy  soils,  where  there  is  usually  enough 
moisture  on  the  surface  even  in  summer  to  keep  their 
roots  cool.  But  this  is  only  a  general  rule.  Some  deep- 
rooting  plants,  such  as  Pseonies,  are  never  so  fine  as 
in  a  stiff  soil,  and  many  shallow-rooting  plants  will 
not  endure  the  cold  and  damp  of  a  stiff  clay. 


GARDENING  IN  HEAVY  SOILS          31 

Most  bulbs,  of  course,  must  be  planted  in  the  au- 
tumn even  in  the  stiffest  soils,  and  they  should  be 
planted  as  early  as  possible,  so  that  they  may  be  able 
to  start  into  growth  before  the  winter  cold  begins. 
This  applies  particularly  to  Daffodils,  all  kinds  of 
Squills,  Chionodoxas,  Snowdrops,  all  Lilies  that  are 
planted  in  autumn,  and  even  to  Crocuses.  It  is  less 
important  in  the  case  of  Tulips,  as  most  of  these  start 
into  growth  later.  It  is,  as  a  rule,  more  difficult  to 
grow  bulbs  well  in  a  heavy  than  in  a  light  soil,  as  they 
are  particularly  apt  to  rot  off  from  damp.  It  is  well, 
therefore,  to  put  some  drainage  under  them,  and  to 
surround  them  with  leaf-mould  and  grit.  Particular 
care  should  be  taken  that  the  soil  is  pressed  close 
round  them,  as,  if  it  is  not,  water  will  get  into  the 
empty  spaces  and  rot  them  in  the  winter.  This  is 
more  difficult  to  ensure  in  stiff  clay  than  in  a  light  soil, 
as  the  clay  after  being  dug  remains  in  lumps,  whereas 
the  light  soil  crumbles  away.  Bulbs  in  a  stiff  soil 
should  not  be  planted  so  deep  as  in  a  light  one.  As 
bulbs  differ  very  much  as  to  the  depth  at  which  they 
like  to  be  planted,  it  is  impossible  to  give  general 
rules  in  this  matter;  but  four  inches  is  quite  deep 
enough  for  the  base  of  Tulip,  Daffodil,  or  Snowdrop 
bulbs,  while  Crocuses  can  be  placed  not  more  than 
an  inch  below  the  surface. 

There  are  many  plants  which  thrive  in  half-shade 
with  a  north  aspect  on  light  soils  but  which  prefer 
full  sun  and  a  southern  aspect  on  heavy  ones.  This 
applies  to  Pseonies,  Pansies  of  all  kinds,  Phloxes, 


32  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

Michaelmas  Daisies,  Madonna  Lilies,  and,  indeed, 
all  the  Lilies  which  will  do  well  in  stiff  soils  —  Day 
Lilies  (Hemerocallis),  Columbines,  many  species  of 
Campanula,  Lilies  of  the  Valley,  Violets,  Coreopsis, 
the  hardy  Cyclamen,  Larkspurs,  Foxgloves,  Doroni- 
cum,  Alstroemeria,  Funkia,  Cranesbills,  Christmas 
roses,  Rose  of  Sharon,  all  the  German  Irises  (though 
these,  indeed,  prefer  full  sun  with  any  soil),  Lupins, 
Mimulus,  Bergamot,  Forget-me-nots,  Anemone  japon- 
ica,  Solomon's  seal,  Dicentra  spectabilis,  Polyanthuses, 
and  even  Primroses,  Spiraeas  of  all  kinds,  Meadow  Rue, 
Spider  wort,  and  Trollius.  All  these  plants  will  do  well 
in  a  stiff  soil,  provided  they  get  plenty  of  sun  and  do 
not  suffer  too  much  from  stagnant  moisture.  In  very 
hot  places  Anemone  coronaria  will  do  better  than  in 
light  soils,  and  even  Anemone  fulgens  will  thrive  if 
some  leaf-mould  and  lime  are  mixed  with  the  clay. 
Hollyhocks  also  must  have  a  warm  place  on  a  stiff 
soil,  and  should  always  be  planted  in  spring.  Lark- 
spurs and  Phloxes  are  never  so  magnificent  as  in  a 
stiff  soil  properly  prepared.  Pansies,  Polyanthuses, 
Trollius,  Day  Lilies,  and  Lilies  of  the  Valley  all  grow 
well  in  a  stiff  soil  if  it  is  also  fertile.  The  Madonna 
Lily  is  often  at  its  best  in  clay  if  it  is  protected  from 
stagnant  moisture  and  in  the  fullest  sun.  It  also 
likes  lime  mixed  with  soil.  Of  other  Lilies,  the  Tiger 
Lily,  the  Orange  Lily,  Lilium  umbellatum,  L.  elegans, 
L.  Martagon,  and  L.  Pyrenaicum  will  all  grow  well 
in  clay;  while  L.  Chalcedonicum,  though  a  capricious 
plant,  is  sometimes  seen  at  its  best  in  clay  in  a  hot 


GARDENING  IN  HEAVY  SOILS          33 

place  where  the  soil  is  impregnated  with  lime.  The 
magnificent  Lilium  Szovitzianum  is  also  said  to  grow 
well  in  clay,  but  it,  like  L.  Chalcedonicum,  needs  to 
be  thoroughly  protected  from  stagnant  moisture.1 
Among  the  Narcissi  some  do  much  better  in  clay  than 
others.  Speaking  generally,  the  pheasant-eye  Nar- 
cissus (H.  poeticus)  and  those  hybrids  which  are 
nearest  to  it  do  better  in  a  stiff  soil  than  the  Trumpet 
Daffodils.  For  these  latter  the  soil  should  be  pre- 
pared with  grit  and  humus.  The  double  form  of 
Narcissus  poeticus  thrives  better  in  a  clay  soil  than 
in  any  other.  It  is  commonly  supposed  that  all  roses 
do  best  in  a  clay  soil,  but  this  is  not  the  case.  Nothing 
suits  most  roses  so  well  as  a  rich  loam;  and  many 
of  the  more  delicate  teas  and  Chinas  are  apt  to  die 
off  in  a  stiff  clay  unless  it  is  very  carefully  prepared. 
Of  all  roses  hybrid  perpetuals  do  best  in  a  clay  soil, 
and  of  these  the  hardier  and  more  vigorous  should 
be  chosen.  It  is  certainly  true,  however,  that  clay 
is  better  suited  to  roses  than  to  most  plants;  but 
the  common  idea  that  any  rose  will  thrive  in  a  clay 
soil,  if  planted  anyhow,  often  leads  to  disappointment. 
The  more  rich  and  porous  the  soil  is  made  the  better, 
and  this  applies,  not  only  to  roses,  but  to  all  kinds  of 
shrubs.  Indeed,  it  is  useless  to  attempt  to  grow  any 
except  the  most  robust  and  long-suffering  shrubs  in 


1  Some  gardeners  recommend  planting  Lilies  on  the  sides  instead  of  up- 
right, in  order  to  drain  the  water  from  their  crowns.  This  is  a  practical 
method  but  in  any  case  the  lily  should  be  set  on  a  bed  of  silver  sand  for 
drainage.  L.  Y.  K. 


34  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

a  stiff  clay  without  a  thorough  and  deep  preparation 
of  the  soil. 

The  soil  also  should  be  carefully  prepared  where 
any  annuals  are  to  be  sown,  for  a  stiff  clay  is  by  nature 
too  hard  and  rough  and  uneven,  even  when  thoroughly 
broken  up,  for  seeds  to  germinate  well  in  it.  Indeed, 
on  clay  one  seldom  sees  those  self-sown  seedlings  which 
are  so  common  in  a  sandy  soil;  and  even  trees  repro- 
duce themselves  from  seed  much  more  rarely,  which 
is,  no  doubt,  the  reason  why  light  soils  are  apt  to 
be  more  wooded  than  heavy  ones.  Therefore,  when 
seeds  are  sown  out  of  doors  on  clay  the  surface  of  the 
soil  should  not  only  be  very  thoroughly  broken  up, 
but  should  be  enriched  and  softened  with  leaf-mould 
and  grit.  It  is  seldom  much  use  to  sow  annuals  in 
autumn  on  clay,  though  it  is  the  best  way  of  growing 
many  kinds  on  a  light  soil.  Indeed,  all  annuals  should 
be  sown,  even  in  the  spring,  some  weeks  later  on  clay 
than  on  sand.  In  the  case  of  biennials  and  perennials 
many  kinds  which  can  be  sown  in  the  open  ground 
when  it  is  sandy  should  be  sown  in  boxes  of  prepared 
soil  where  the  natural  soil  is  clay,  since  not  only  are 
they  apt  to  fail  to  germinate,  but  they  are  also  liable 
to  be  eaten  off  by  slugs  while  still  in  a  young  and 
tender  state.  Slugs  and  snails  are  perhaps  the  worst 
pests  of  a  heavy  soil,  and  there  is  no  means  of  extir- 
pating them.  They  can  only  be  dealt  with  in  detail 
by  killing  all  that  are  encountered  and  by  surround- 
ing the  plants  for  which  they  have  a  particular  fancy 
with  soot  or  ashes.  Not  only  is  the  voracity  of  slugs, 


GARDENING  IN  HEAVY  SOILS          35 

though  vegetarian,  comparable  with  that  of  sharks 
and  crocodiles  when  the  difference  of  size  is  considered, 
but  they  have  also  a  horrible  epicurism  of  taste  which 
will  not  be  satisfied  by  an  innocent  meal  off  the  leaves 
of  vigorous  and  full-grown  plants.  They  make  for 
whatever  is  young  and  tender,  and  are  happy  only 
when  they  can  kill  where  they  dine.  Where  they 
abound,  therefore,  seedlings  should  not  be  exposed  to 
them  until  they  have  outgrown  their  first  delicacy.1 
All  these  matters  make  gardening  on  clay  a  difficult 
and  troublesome  business;  and  the  stiff er  the  clay 
the  stiffer  is  the  gardener's  task.  But  we  cannot  all 
live  on  a  rich  loam  of  the  right  consistency.  We  must 
take  gardening  as  a  game,  with  different  rules  in  dif- 
ferent places.  Sometimes  the  rules  are  easy  and 
sometimes  difficult.  On  a  stiff  clay  they  are  certainly 
very  difficult.  But  some  people  find  the  most  difficult 
games  the  most  interesting,  and  the  born  gardener 
reveals  his  genius  most  when  he  has  to  deal  with  stiff 
clay  or  pure  sand. 

1  In  the  United  States  snails  and  slugs  are  not  common.  Their  counter- 
part may  be  said  to  be  the  cutworm,  whose  ravages  many  American  gar- 
deners know  too  well.  L.  Y.  K. 


CAMPANULAS 

/" INHERE  are  some  flowers  which  in  the  most  formal 
JL  garden  never  lose  their  wildness  or  that  air  of 
romance  which  most  wild  flowers  possess.  Every 
Daffodil  looks  like  a  meadow  flower,  and  all  cam- 
panulas seem  to  belong  to  the  mountain-side  or  the 
woodland.  There  is  a  mysterious  charm  about  all 
bell-shaped  flowers,  as  if  they  really  had  some  secret 
musical  purpose;  and  there  seems  to  be  a  further 
mystery  in  the  dim-blue  colour  of  campanula  bells. 
The  wild  beauty  of  these  plants  has  been  but  little 
touched  or  altered  by  the  florists,  and  the  reason,  no 
doubt,  is  that  Nature  herself  has  already  done  nearly 
all  that  can  be  done  with  them.  There  are  some  plants, 
such  as  Pansies  or  Begonias,  in  which  she  seems  to 
produce  merely  possibilities  for  the  gardener  to  realize. 
There  are  others  which  she  herself  perfects  for  the 
garden,  enlarging  their  flowers  until  they  can  scarcely 
be  further  enlarged  without  loss  of  symmetry,  and 
developing  innumerable  species  infinitely  varied  in 
habit  and  form.  This  is  the  case  with  campanulas. 
There  are  some  that  grow  as  tall  as  a  man,  and  some 
that  grow  scarcely  higher  than  moss.  The  flowers 
of  some  are  bell-shaped,  others  starry,  and  others  al- 
most flat  like  plates.  Only  in  colour  do  they  vary 
little,  being  nearly  all  of  a  soft-grey  blue  or  purple, 

36 


CAMPANULAS  37 

although  there  are  soft-pink  Canterbury-bells  and 
white  varieties,  either  natural  or  garden,  of  many 
species.  In  some  cases  the  florists  have  enlarged  their 
flowers,  in  one  or  two  they  have  doubled  them;  they 
have  also  produced  a  certain  number  of  hybrids,  but 
even  among  the  hybrids  as  many  have  come  by  ac- 
cident as  by  design.  But  all  these  are  only  exceptions; 
most  campanulas  are  as  Nature  has  made  them;  and 
she  has  produced  few  flowers  with  more  character  and 
beauty.  For  garden  purposes  it  is  convenient  to 
divide  campanulas  into  classes,  the  tall  kinds  of  the 
lowland  and  the  low-growing  mountain  species,  while 
there  are  a  certain  number  of  intermediate  kinds,  such 
as  our  own  English  harebells  and  Campanula  car- 
patica.  The  taller  kinds,  naturally,  are  best  suited 
for  the  border,  and  the  mountain  species  for  the  rock- 
garden;  although  several  of  the  latter  are  so  easily 
grown  that  they  make  excellent  plants  for  the  front 
of  the.  border.  Most  of  the  border  campanulas  are 
woodland  or  half  woodland  plants,  and,  therefore, 
they  like  a  cool  or  a  shady  place,  except  in  a  very  stiff 
soil.  They  are  nearly  all  easily  grown,  but  they  pre- 
fer a  rich  soil,  and  many  of  them  will  not  reveal  their 
full  beauty  without  it.  The  best  known  of  all  cam- 
panulas is  the  Canterbury-bell  (C.  medium),  of  which 
it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  speak  except  to  say  that 
the  double  and  cup  and  saucer  varieties  are  not  nearly 
so  beautiful  as  those  with  flowers  of  a  natural  and 
simple  form.  Two  other  species  are  almost  as  com- 
mon and,  being  perennials,  are  even  more  useful  than 


38  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

the  Canterbury-bell  —  namely,  C.  latiloba  (or  grandis) 
and  C.  persicifolia.  C.  latiloba  is  the  easiest  grown 
of  the  campanulas,  thriving  in  poor  soil,  provided  it 
is  not  too  hot,  and  increasing  like  a  weed.  It  has 
soft-blue  flowers  shaped  like  a  plate  or  a  shallow 
saucer,  and  there  is  a  white  variety  which  grows 
stronger  than  the  type.  C.  persicifolia  is,  perhaps, 
the  most  beautiful  of  all  border  campanulas,  and  one 
of  the  few  that  have  been  improved  by  the  florists. 
The  type  is  naturalized  in  some  parts  of  England, 
and  has  bell-shaped  flowers  of  the  ordinary  cam- 
panula blue.  There  is  a  natural  white  variety  of  it, 
also  naturalized.  C.  p.  grandiflora  is  a  variety  with 
much  larger  flowers  and  a  most  beautiful  and  vigorous 
plant.  It  can  be  obtained  with  dark-blue,  pale-blue, 
and  white  flowers.  C.  persicifolia,  like  most  cam- 
panulas, can  be  raised  very  easily  from  seed,  and  the 
best  way  to  obtain  fine  forms  is  to  raise  a  number  of 
seedlings  from  a  good  strain  of  the  grandiflora  variety 
and  to  keep  only  the  finest  of  these,  raising  seedlings 
from  them  again  in  due  course.  C.  persicifolia  is  not 
a  very  long-lived  plant,  and  is  apt  to  dwindle  and 
deteriorate  after  two  years  or  so,  so  that  the  stock 
should  be  constantly  renewed.  Several  double  varie- 
ties have  lately  been  produced,  but  in  all  of  them  a 
great  part  of  the  peculiar  grace  of  the  flower  is  lost, 
and  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  whatever  for  their 
existence.  C.  latifolia  is  a  fine  British  species  with 
pale-blue  flowers.  In  rich  soil  and  a  cool  situation  it 
will  grow  5  ft.  or  more  high  and  seeds  itself  freely. 


CAMPANULAS  39 

There  is  a  beautiful  white  variety  and  a  variety  called 
macrantha,  a  fine  plant,  but  not  so  stately  in  habit 
as  the  type.  C.  van  Houttei  and  C.  Burghalti  are 
probably  hybrids  between  C.  latifolia  and  some  other 
parent  unknown.  They  are  both  very  beautiful, 
having  large  bells  much  paler  in  the  latter  than  in 
the  former.  They  grow  only  about  2  ft.  high. 

C.  lactiflora  is  another  stately  bell-flower,  growing 
often  6  ft.  in  height.  Its  flowers  are  small,  but  very 
numerous,  and  of  a  very  pale-blue  colour.  There  is  a 
variety  with  deeper  blue  flowers.  C.  celtidifolia  ap- 
pears to  be  only  a  rather  inferior  variety  of  the  same 
species.  C.  lactiflora  seeds  itself  freely,  and  should 
be  left  in  the  same  place  for  years,  as  it  shows  its  full 
beauty  only  when  undisturbed. 

Campanula  pyramidalis  is  a  well-known  plant, 
often  grown  in  pots  in  greenhouses.  It  is,  however, 
perfectly  hardy,  though  it  is  apt  to  deteriorate  quickly 
after  the  first  year's  flowering.  It  also  often  grows 
6  ft.  high  and  remains  in  flower  for  a  long  time.  Al- 
though such  a  tall  plant,  chance  seedlings  of  it  will 
thrive  in  the  fissures  of  walls,  and  in  such  places  it 
often  seeds  itself  profusely.  It  is  best  renewed  from 
seed  about  every  two  years,  and,  if  the  seed  is  sown 
early  in  spring  and  the  plants  are  well  treated,  they 
will  flower  the  next  year.  There  is  also  a  fine  white 
variety  and  a  shorter  variety  called  compacta.  C. 
pyramidalis  likes  more  sun  than  most  of  the  taller 
campanulas. 

Campanula  alliarisefolia  is  a  handsome  plant  grow- 


40  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

ing  less  than  2  ft.  high.  It  has  large  drooping  white 
bells,  and  can  be  easily  raised  from  seed.  Campanula 
urticifolia  is  usually  seen  in  the  white  double-flowered 
variety.  This  is  one  of  the  few  cases  in  which  doub- 
ling improves  a  campanula,  and  it  is  a  very  pretty 
plant.  C.  glomerata  is  a  British  species  and  very 
easily  grown.  It  is  only  about  a  foot  high,  and  the 
flowers,  of  a  rich  violet  colour,  are  crowded  together 
at  the  top  of  the  stalk.  The  white  variety  is  very 
beautiful,  but  not  so  vigorous  as  the  type.  There  is 
also  a  new  very  dwarf  form  called  acaulis,  a  good 
plant  for  the  rock  garden.  C.  punctata  is  another 
low-growing  border  plant,  with  white  spotted  flowers. 
It  often  takes  a  year  or  two  to  establish  itself,  and 
then  is  apt  to  become  a  weed.  Besides  these  are  two 
fine  hybrids,  C.  Hendersonii  and  C.  Fergussonii,  both 
of  them,  perhaps,  being  crosses  between  C.  carpatica 
and  C.  pyramidalis.  They  are  both  valuable  and 
distinct  border  plants  growing  about  18  in.  high. 

We  will  pass  now  to  the  campanulas  of  inter- 
mediate growth,  most  of  them  inhabitants  of  hill 
countries  or  Alpine  pastures,  but  most  of  them  also 
easily  grown  in  the  border.  The  English  Harebell, 
C.  rotundifolia,  is,  of  course,  both  a  lowland  and  a 
highland  plant;  and  only  its  commonness  prevents 
it  from  being  a  favourite  flower  in  our  gardens.  The 
white  form  is  rather  rare,  though  often  seen  in  Derby- 
shire. It  is  less  vigorous  than  the  type,  and  often 
dies  if  divided.  C.  Hostii  is  a  variety  of  C.  rotundifolia, 
and  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  it  except  by 


CAMPANULAS  41 

the  eye  of  the  botanist.  It  is  chiefly  valuable  for  its 
white  form,  which  is  much  more  vigorous  than  the 
white  harebell  proper,  and  can  be  divided  without 
fear.  There  is  also  a  curious  and  beautiful  double 
variety  of  C.  rotundifolia  called  C.  soldanelloides. 
This  should  be  grown  in  some  cool  part  of  the  rock 
garden,  as  it  is  far  less  vigorous  than  C.  rotundifolia. 
Campanula  carpatica  is  a  well-known  and  beautiful 
plant  with  large,  open,  bell-shaped  flowers,  growing 
about  9  in.  high.  There  is  a  white  variety,  and 
several  other  varieties,  of  which  pelviformis  is  partic- 
ularly beautiful.  C.  carpatica  is  best  raised  from 
seed,  and  the  seedlings  are  apt  to  vary  a  good  deal 
in  the  size  of  their  flowers  and  also  in  the  depth 
of  their  colour.  Campanula  turbinata  is  a  dwarf 
variety  with  flowers  very  large  in  proportion  to  its 
size,  and  one  of  the  finest  of  campanulas  for  the  rock 
garden.  It  will  not  often  come  true  from  seed,  and 
therefore  should  be  increased  by  division  in  early 
spring.  Campanula  mirabilis  is  a  plant  from  the 
Caucasus,  of  which  a  great  deal  was  made  when  it 
first  appeared  some  ten  years  ago.  It  is  certainly 
beautiful,  being  like  a  very  delicate  Canterbury- 
bell,  but,  as  it  often  takes  years  before  it  flowers  and 
appears  always  to  die  after  flowering,  it  is  not  a  very 
valuable  garden  plant.  It  can  be  easily  raised  from 
seed,  and  should  be  grown  in  rather  poor,  stony  soil, 
on  the  lower  slopes  of  the  rock  garden.  Campanula 
rhomboidalis  is  a  pretty  harebell  growing  about  a 
foot  high  and  thriving  in  any  border  of  ordinary  soil. 


42  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

It  can  be  easily  raised  from  seed.  C.  barbata  is  no 
doubt  the  most  beautiful  of  all  these  intermediate 
campanulas,  perhaps,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  cam- 
panulas. Unfortunately,  it  is  rather  capricious,  grow- 
ing freely  and  increasing  by  self-sown  seedlings  in 
some  places  and  dwindling  away  without  flowering 
in  others.  In  Switzerland  it  is  a  plant  of  the  Alpine 
pastures,  and  more  often  than  not  a  biennial.  It 
seems  to  do  best  in  light,  rich  soil,  in  a  fairly  sunny, 
well-drained  place,  where  the  ground  is  carpeted  with 
other  low-growing  plants.  It  can  be  easily  raised 
from  seed,  and  its  beauty  is  such  that  no  pains  should 
be  spared  to  make  it  thrive. 

There  are  a  great  many  mountain  campanulas, 
some  very  easy  to  grow  and  some  difficult,  but  nearly 
all  both  interesting  and  beautiful  plants  for  the  rock 
garden.  The  best  known  of  these  are  C.  caespitosa  and 
C.  pusilla  (or  pumila)  which  may  for  garden  purposes 
be  regarded  as  the  same  plant.  C.  caespitosa  is  a 
little  harebell  only  a  few  inches  high,  which  will 
grow  in  a  border  in  light,  rich,  well-drained  soil,  but 
which  looks  its  best  and  lives  longest  in  long,  deep, 
and  narrow  pockets  in  the  rock  garden.  In  such 
places  it  will  thrive  in  full  sun  and  poor  soil,  throw- 
ing out  runners  wherever  it  can  find  space  and  grow- 
ing into  a  plant  a  foot  or  more  long.  The  blue  flowers 
vary  a  good  deal  in  the  depth  of  their  colour,  and 
there  is  a  white  variety.  C.  caespitosa  can,  like  all 
or  nearly  all  the  rock  campanulas,  be  increased  by 
cuttings  taken  when  they  are  just  starting  into  growth 


CAMPANULAS  43 

in  the  spring.  These  cuttings  will  make  good  flowering 
plants  the  same  year,  if  they  are  stuck  in  cold  frames. 
But  the  simpler  plan  is  to  raise  seedlings,  and  these, 
if  seed  is  sown  in  March  or  April  in  a  cold  frame,  will 
also  flower  the  same  year.  Hundreds  of  plants  can 
be  quickly  raised  in  this  way  at  the  cost  of  a  few  pence, 
and  plants  raised  from  seed  are  the  most  vigorous. 
The  white  variety  often  comes  true  from  seed.  C. 
caespitosa  makes  a  particularly  beautiful  contrast 
with  Sedum  album,  which  flowers  at  the  same  time. 

Scarcely  less  well  known,  and  quite  as  beautiful, 
is  Campanula  muralis  (also  called  Portenschlagiana) . 
This  plant,  although  it  will  grow  in  the  smallest  fis- 
sures of  rock  in  the  hottest  sun,  will  also  thrive  in 
rich  soil  in  cool  and  half  shady  places.  There  are 
two  varieties  and  their  naming  is  rather  uncertain. 
The  type  appears  to  be  the  smaller  plant  with  pale 
blue  flowers,  while  the  variety  Bayarica  is  larger  and 
has  deeper  and  more  purple  flowers.  Both  are  most 
valuable  plants  for  the  rock  garden,  particularly  for 
the  north  side,  where  they  may  be  mixed  with  Silene 
alpestris  with  beautiful  effect.  They  are  very  deep- 
rooting  plants  and  should  be  left  undisturbed  as  long 
as  possible.  They  can  be  increased  either  by  division 
or  by  cuttings  treated  like  the  cuttings  of  C.  caespitosa. 
Seed  is  not  very  common,  and  there  is,  unfortunately, 
no  white  variety  known. 

Campanula  pulla  is  a  plant  with  much  the  same 
habit  of  growth  as  C.  caespitosa,  but  even  smaller, 
and  with  deeper  blue,  or  rather  purple,  flowers.  It  is 


44  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

also  rather  more  delicate,  though  easily  grown  in  long, 
narrow  pockets  of  the  rock  garden  and  in  light  rubbly 
soil  where  its  runners  have  room  to  increase.  It  will 
thrive  either  on  the  north  or  south  side,  but  should 
always  have  a  cool  root  run.  It  is  best  moved  and 
divided  every  two  or  three  years.  It  can  be  increased 
by  seed,  though  this  is  rather  uncertain  in  germina- 
tion unless  sown  as  soon  as  ripe;  by  cuttings,  as  in 
the  case  of  C.  caespitosa;  or  by  division. 

C.  Wilsoni  is  a  pretty  hybrid  between  C.  pulla  and 
C.  carpatica  and  more  vigorous  than  C.  pulla,  though 
of  the  same  habit  of  growth.  There  appears  also  to 
be  one  or  two  other  hybrids  of  C.  pulla,  such  as  C. 
haylodgensis,  though  these  are  of  uncertain  parentage. 
C.  Tommasiniana  is  another  small  Bluebell,  with  long 
and  very  narrow  pale  blue  flowers.  It  has  a  very 
delicate  beauty,  but  is  quite  easy  to  grow  in  chinks 
of  the  rocks,  thriving  best  in  full  sun.  It  must  be 
increased  by  division  or  cuttings. 

Campanula  garganica  is  a  small  campanula  with 
leaves  very  like  those  of  C.  muralis,  but  with  star- 
shaped  flowers.  There  appears  to  be  some  doubt  as 
to  which  of  two  varieties  is  the  type.  One  of  these 
is  more  tufted  than  the  other,  has  shiny  green  leaves, 
and  blue  flowers.  The  other  has  leaves  more  bronze 
or  brown  in  colour,  a  more  spreading  habit  of  growth, 
and  flowers  nearer  to  purple  in  their  hue.  Of  this 
form,  which  is  perhaps  the  type,  there  is  also  a  white 
or  almost  white  variety.  Both  are  very  beautiful, 
and  easily  grown  in  narrow  chinks  of  rock  or  even 


CAMPANULAS  45 

fissures  of  the  wall  in  full  sun.  They  can  be  easily 
raised  from  seed  or  cuttings,  and  should  be  left  un- 
disturbed when  once  planted,  as  they  root  very  deeply. 
The  variety  called  hirsuta,  with  downy  leaves,  is  a 
larger  and  more  vigorous  plant  altogether,  and  will 
thrive  on  the  north  or  south  side  of  the  rock  garden. 
It  should  be  increased  by  cuttings  or  division.  All 
the  forms  of  C.  garganica  are  very  beautiful,  and  pecu- 
liarly well-fitted  to  the  rock  garden. 

C.  Waldsteiniana  is  a  very  small  campanula  rather 
like  C.  garganica  in  its  flowers,  though  more  upright 
in  growth.  It  is  rather  rare,  but  quite  easy  to  grow 
in  sunny  chinks  between  the  rocks.  It  must  be  in- 
creased by  cuttings  or  very  careful  division. 

Campanula  abietina  is  a  beautiful  plant  quite  easy 
to  grow,  but  rather  a  shy  bloomer.  It  is  best  grown 
in  rather  poor  light  soil  and  in  full  sun  among  the 
rocks,  and  should  have  a  top  dressing  of  leaf-mould 
every  spring.  It  can  be  readily  increased  by  division, 
and,  indeed,  thrives  best  if  divided  and  given  fresh 
soil  every  two  years  or  so.  Otherwise  it  is  apt  to  die 
out.  C.  abietina  is  rather  taller  than  most  of  the 
rock  campanulas,  throwing  up  stalks  about  8  in.  in 
height. 

Campanula  isophylla  and  C.  fragilis  are  two  beau- 
tiful prostrate  campanulas  usually  grown  in  pots; 
and,  indeed,  they  are  too  tender  to  thrive  out  of  doors 
except  in  warm  places.  It  is  worth  while,  however, 
to  try  them  in  the  warmest  part  of  the  rock  garden 
closely  packed  among  the  rocks.  C.  isophylla  likes 


46  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

fairly  rich  soil  consisting  chiefly  of  mortar  rubble  and 
humus,  and  it  must  be  watered  in  hot  dry  weather. 
C.  fragilis  will  do  best  in  the  narrowest  chinks  between 
the  rocks  in  a  soil  mainly  made  up  of  rubble.  It  can 
be  raised  very  easily  from  seed.  C.  isophylla  is  best 
increased  by  cuttings  taken  in  spring.  Both  should 
be  protected  in  winter  if  they  are  left  out  of  doors. 

There  are  a  few  campanulas  from  the  high  Alps 
which  are  difficult  to  grow.  Among  them  C.  Allioni, 
C.  cenisia,  C.  excisa,  C.  Elatines,  C.  lanata,  and  C. 
Zoyzii.  They  are  all  purely  rock  plants  and  should 
be  grown  in  very  narrow  chinks  of  the  rocks,  in  a 
soil  consisting  mainly  of  sand  and  rubble,  with  a  very 
little  leaf-mould.  They  are  best  grown  from  seed 
when  it  can  be  obtained.  C.  Allioni  spreads  by  means 
of  runners  throwing  up  little  tufts,  and  should  be 
given  some  space  to  increase  in.  C.  cenisia  and  C. 
Zoyzii  are  tiny  tufted  plants.  C.  cenisia  grows  in  its 
native  home  in  masses  of  broken  shale.  C.  Zoyzii 
likes  a  narrow  fissure  and  does  well  in  some  gardens. 
C.  excisa  is  worth  attempting,  since  it  has  a  flower 
both  curious  and  beautiful  and  can  be  readily  raised 
from  seed.  C.  lanata  has  a  yellow  flower,  and  very 
little  appears  to  be  known  about  its  culture  in  Eng- 
land. It  comes  from  the  Balkans. 

All  the  rock  campanulas  are  best  disturbed  or 
divided  in  spring,  as  some  even  of  the  most  vigorous 
of  them  are  apt  to  die  in  the  winter  if  they  are  dis- 
turbed in  autumn.  Although  most  of  them  like  a 
good  deal  of  sun,  they  also  like  a  cool  place  for  their 


CAMPANULAS  47 

roots,  and,  therefore,  should  be  placed  so  that  their 
roots  can  run  under  rocks.  The  kinds,  such  as  caespi- 
tosa,  pulla,  and  Allioni,  which  run  under  the  soil, 
should  be  given  plenty  of  room  for  increase,  as  other- 
wise they  quickly  deteriorate.  The  more  difficult 
species  all  like  a  south-west  aspect,  but  many  of  the 
more  vigorous  kinds,  such  as  caespitosa,  garganica 
hirsuta,  turbinata,  Wilsonii,  and  pulla  do  well  on  the 
north  side  if  unshaded,  and  are  most  useful  plants 
for  this  purpose.  Muralis,  as  we  have  said,  will  thrive 
also  in  half  shade.  With  the  Pinks  and  Saxifrages, 
Campanulas  are  the  most  valuable  of  all  families  of 
plants  for  the  rock  garden.  ' 


THE  CULTIVATION  OF  ALPINE  PLANTS 


is  some  vagueness  in  the  use  of  the  term 
JL  Alpine  as  applied  to  plants.  It  never  means 
merely  the  plants  of  the  Alps.  Indeed,  the  epithet 
Alpinus  is  applied  botanically  to  mountain  plants 
from  other  continents  besides  Europe.  But  besides 
this  geographical  looseness  there  is  also  some  uncer- 
tainty about  the  character  which  is  implied  by  the 
word  Alpine.  Some  people  apply  it  generally  to  all 
plants  which  grow  on  mountains,  however  readily 
they  may  adapt  themselves  to  the  lowlands.  Others 
confine  it  to  those  high  mountain  plants  which  can 
only  be  grown  in  our  gardens  in  special  conditions 
and  with  some  care  and  skill.  This  seems  the  best 
use  of  the  word  for  any  one  who  considers  Alpine 
plants  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  cultivation, 
since  it  is  only  the  more  difficult  among  them  that 
need  to  be  cultivated  in  a  peculiar  way. 

But,  even  if  one  confines  the  term  to  mountain 
plants  that  need  special  conditions,  there  still  remains 
the  difficulty  that  such  plants  vary  a  good  deal  in  the 
conditions  which  they  require;  and  ignorance  of  this 
fact  causes  many  failures.  Not  only  do  Alpine  plants 
come  from  many  different  climates,  but  even  the 
same  range  of  mountains  will  usually  afford  a  great 
diversity  of  conditions,  resulting  in  an  equal  diversity 

in  the  character  and  requirements  of  the  plants  which 

48 


CULTIVATION  OF  ALPINE  PLANTS      49 

grow  upon  it.  Thus,  even  in  the  Swiss  Alps,  there 
are  some  plants  that  are  purely  saxatile  growing  in 
very  narrow  and  deep  fissures  or  chinks  between  the 
rocks,  needing  hardly  any  soil  for  their  nourishment 
and  getting  all  the  food  and  protection  they  require 
from  the  rocks  which  surround  their  roots.  Plants 
of  this  kind  are  apt  to  be  very  deep-rooting,  and, 
when  once  they  have  thrust  their  roots  down  among 
the  rocks  deeply  embedded  in  the  soil,  they  are  usually 
safe  against  any  amount  of  drought  and  heat  in  the 
summer  or  moisture  and  cold  in  the  winter.  The 
more  difficult  among  them  need  scarcely  any  soil 
at  all,  merely  a  little  grit  and  rubble  to  fill  up  the 
spaces  between  the  rocks.  They  will  usually  thrive 
on  a  steep,  sloping  bank;  and  there  is  no  need  to  ar- 
range the  rocks  where  they  grow  so  as  to  catch  and 
hold  the  water  on  the  surface  of  the  soil,  as  they  get 
all  the  moisture  they  need  from  the  rocks  about  their 
deeper  roots.  Most  of  them  like  all  the  sun  they  can 
get,  and  should,  therefore,  be  grown  on  rock-work 
facing  to  the  south.  Many  plants  of  this  kind  which 
can  be  successfully  grown  in  English  rock  gardens 
come  from  mountains  in  Asia  Minor  and  other  hot 
countries,  so  that  they  sometimes  suffer  from  very 
sharp  frosts,  especially  if  accompanied  by  cutting 
winds.  They  should  therefore  be  grown  in  sheltered 
places,  and  in  very  hard  winters  should  be  protected 
with  a  mat  or  cut  heather.1  Among  plants  of  this 
deep-rooting  purely  saxatile  character  may  be  men- 
tor "cut  heather"  Americans  may  read  "pine  boughs."  L.  Y.  K. 


50  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

tioned  the  Aethionemas,  some  of  the  more  difficult 
Campanulas,  the  Acantholimons,  the  Wahlenbergias 
(also  called  Edraianthus),  Armeria  caespitosa,  some 
of  the  smaller  and  more  delicate  Pinks  such  as  Dian- 
thus  neglectus  and  D.  freynii,  Geranium  argenteum 
and  G.  cinereum,  Hypericum  repens,  H.  reptans,  and 
H.  coris,  Iberis  saxatilis,  Lychnis  lagascae,  Phyteuma 
comosum,  Potentilla  nitida,  Saxifraga  longifolia,  S. 
pyramidalis,  and  many  other  saxifrages  of  the  same 
class,  Silene  Elizabethae,  Antirrhinum  asarina,  Ero- 
dium  guttatum,  and  E.  chrysanthum.  These  plants 
are  not  all  difficult  to  grow;  a  good  many  of  them,  in- 
deed, are  quite  easy;  but  they  all  do  best,  and  are 
safest  against  the  caprices  of  our  climate,  when  grown 
in  deep  and  narrow  chinks  between  rocks;  and  they 
will  all  thrive  with  very  little  soil.  The  problem  of 
the  cultivation  of  plants  of  this  kind  is,  therefore, 
fairly  simple.  The  main  thing  is  to  induce  them  to 
root  deeply.  Until  they  have  done  that,  they  must 
be  protected  from  drought  as  a  rule;  but,  when  they 
have  done  it,  they  will  protect  themselves.  Most  of 
them  will  thrust  their  roots  several  feet  down.  The 
rocks  about  them,  therefore,  should  be  equally  deeply 
embedded  in  the  ground,  and  the  soil  should  be  thor- 
oughly well  drained  as  far  as  their  roots  are  likely 
to  descend.  It  is  no  use  to  attempt  to  grow  such 
plants  upon  a  heavy  or  damp  subsoil  with  a  foot  or 
so  of  rocks  and  grit  above  it.  They  will  thrive  until 
they  reach  the  subsoil,  and  then  their  roots  will  rot 
away  the  first  winter  after  they  have  reached  it. 


CULTIVATION  OF  ALPINE  PLANTS      51 

But  there  are  other  high  mountain  plants  —  and 
these  are  often  the  most  difficult  to  grow  —  which 
are  not  content  merely  with  deep  and  narrow  chinks 
between  the  rocks.  They  are  plants  which,  in  their 
native  homes,  obtain  a  continual  supply  of  moisture 
from  the  melting  snows  during  their  growing  and 
flowering  season;  and  they  need,  therefore,  a  supply 
of  moisture,  when  they  are  grown  in  a  rock  garden, 
in  all  hot  and  dry  weather.  They  also  usually  need 
as  much  sun  as  they  can  get;  and,  since  in  their  native 
mountains  they  are  at  rest  and  frozen  hard  for  many 
months  of  the  year,  they  are  apt  to  suffer  very  much 
from  the  damp  of  an  English  (or  American)  winter, 
and  often  require  as  sharp  a  drainage  as  the  purely 
saxatile  plants.  Plants  of  this  kind  often  root  deeply, 
but  they  often  also  increase  by  means  of  runners  which 
travel  below  the  surface  of  the  soil  and  throw  up 
tufts  in  all  directions.  In  this  case  they  cannot  be 
grown  in  very  narrow  chinks,  like  the  purely  saxatile 
plants,  but  must  be  given  room  enough  for  increase; 
and  this  also  makes  it  difficult  to  protect  them  from 
drought.  Gentiana  verna  is  a  plant  of  this  kind; 
and  it  has  got  the  reputation  of  being  difficult  to  grow, 
because  many  people  have  treated  it  as  if  it  were  a 
purely  saxatile  plant,  stuffing  it  into  some  narrow 
chink  between  the  rocks  in  a  place  where  no  moisture 
will  stay  on  the  surface.  Gentiana  verna  is  really 
rather  a  plant  of  the  Alpine  pastures  than  of  the 
rocks;  and  it  is  usually  seen  on  grassy  slopes  which 
are  watered  by  the  melting  snows  during  its  flowering 


52  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

period,  and  where  it  can  throw  out  its  tufts  in  all  direc- 
tions. If  it  is  grown  on  a  slope  in  England  (or  Amer- 
ica), however,  it  is  difficult  to  protect  from  drought, 
especially  as  it  needs  all  the  sun  it  can  get.  It  is  best 
grown,  therefore,  in  a  little  hollow  of  the  rock  garden, 
which  will  catch  all  the  rain  that  falls  into  it,  and 
where  the  plant  will  have  plenty  of  room  for  increase. 
Gentiana  verna  is  not  difficult  to  grow  when  once  its 
needs  are  understood,  because  it  is  not  very  impatient 
of  moisture  in  the  winter.  There  must  be  good  drain- 
age below  it;  but,  if  such  drainage  exists,  it  can  and 
should  be  grown  in  rich  soil  —  a  mixture  of  turfy 
loam  and  leaf-mould,  for  instance,  suits  it  well. 

But  there  are  other  plants  which  need  as  much 
moisture  in  the  summer,  but  which  are  so  impatient 
of  damp  in  the  winter  that  they  must  be  provided 
with  a  much  lighter  and  poorer  soil.  It  is  plants  such 
as  these  that  are  particularly  difficult  to  grow;  and 
yet  a  good  many  of  them  can  be  grown  successfully 
if  only  the  rocks  are  arranged  so  as  to  protect  them 
both  from  drought  in  the  summer  and  from  damp  in 
the  winter.  Like  Gentiana  verna,  they  must  be  grown 
in  little  hollows  among  the  rocks,  but  in  hollows  where 
the  drainage  is  very  sharp.  The  pockets  in  which 
they  are  planted  should  not  themselves  be  sloping, 
but  slightly  depressed  in  the  middle  like  a  saucer,  so 
as  to  catch  the  ram.  They  should  be  planted  close 
to  a  rock  arranged  so  that  their  roots  can  run  under 
it  and  be  kept  cool  by  it,  but  the  other  rocks  should 
come  closer  together  downwards  like  the  sides  of  a 


CULTIVATION  OF  ALPINE  PLANTS      53 

pot,  so  that  the  earth  enclosed  by  them  may  remain 
firm,  and  so  that  all  rain  may  run  down  by  the  roots 
of  the  plant. 

Alpine  plants  which  increase  by  underground  run- 
ners, and  which  are  liable  to  suffer  from  drought,  are 
much  benefited  by  a  top-dressing  of  silver-sand  and 
leaf-mould  when  they  are  just  starting  into  growth 
in  the  spring.  This  top-dressing  is  peculiarly  val- 
uable—  and  indeed  essential  —  to  all  delicate  sur- 
face-rooting plants,  as  it  protects  them  from  drought 
and  gives  them  just  the  nourishment  they  require. 
It  should  be  applied  very  carefully  and  worked  in 
among  the  growths  with  the  fingers,  and  may  be  re- 
peated later  on  in  the  summer  if  the  earlier  dressing 
has  washed  away.  A  top-dressing  of  this  kind  is  a 
natural  remedy,  since  Alpine  plants  in  their  native 
homes  are  often  subject  during  all  the  warm  part  of 
the  year  to  a  perpetual  wash  of  sand  and  grit  and 
vegetable  matter;  and  some  of  them,  such  as  the  smaller 
primulas,  have  a  habit  of  growing  out  of  the  ground, 
which  is  no  doubt  a  natural  device  to  protect  them 
from  being  smothered  by  the  wash  of  earth.  Such 
plants  will  soon  die  if  they  are  not  top-dressed.  Al- 
pine plants  with  very  woolly  leaves  are  also  the  better 
for  a  top-dressing  of  pure  grit  in  the  autumn  as  this 
absorbs  the  moisture  and  prevents  their  suffering  from 
it.  The  Fairy  Forget-me-not  (Eritrichium  nanum) 
is  an  extreme  instance  of  the  plants  which  need  the 
kind  of  culture  described  above.  It  and  a  few  other 
plants  of  the  high  Alps  have  never  yet,  we  believe, 


54  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

been  successfully  cultivated  for  any  length  of  time  in 
England,  and  are  never  likely  to  be  until  some  new 
secrets  of  acclimatization  are  discovered. 

But  there  are  other  plants  with  the  same  kind  of 
requirements,  but  less  exacting,  which  often  fail  in 
English  gardens  because  they  are  usually  treated  like 
the  purely  saxatile  plants  and  so  are  apt  to  suffer  from 
drought  in  the  summer.  Among  such  plants,  some  of 
which  can  be  grown  easily  enough  in  the  manner  we 
have  described,  are  Androsace  carnea,  A.  ciliata,  A. 
villosa,  and  A.  vitaliana  (also  called  Douglasia), 
Dianthus  alpinus,  and  D.  callizonus,  Draba  Mawii, 
and  D.  pyrenaica  (also  called  Petrocallis),  Globularia 
nana,  Myosotis  rupicola  (this  plant  will  thrive  in  a 
narrow  chink,  but  needs  protection  from  drought), 
Polemonium  confertum,  Omphalodes  luciliae  (a  very 
capricious  plant,  which  will  often  thrive  on  a  north 
slope),  Rhododendron  chamaecistus  (which  likes  some 
shade),  Saxifraga  burseriana,  S.  apiculata,  S.  Gries- 
bachi,  S.  Boydii,  S.  squarrosa  and  S.  caesia,  and  Silene 
acaulis.  Some  of  these  plants  are  quite  easy  to  grow, 
as,  for  instance,  Androsace  carnea  and  A.  villosa, 
Polemonium  confertum,  and  the  white  form  P.  c. 
mellitum,  Saxifraga  apiculata  and  S.  caesia  and  Silene 
acaulis.  But  they  are  all  the  better  for  surface  mois- 
ture, and  are  apt  to  perish  from  drought  if  grown  as 
purely  saxatile  plants.  There  are  also  many  plants 
which  come  between  the  two  classes.  Many  of  the 
Alpine  primulas,  for  instance,  are  purely  saxatile 
plants  in  their  native  mountains,  yet  are  apt  to  suffer 


CULTIVATION  OF  ALPINE  PLANTS      55 

from  drought  in  England  if  grown  on  the  south  side 
of  the  rockery,  and  tightly  packed  among  the  rocks; 
while,  if  they  are  placed  on  the  north  side,  they  often 
refuse  to  flower.  The  best  plan  with  them  is  to  grow 
them  in  little  hollows  on  the  south  side  where  the  rain 
will  not  all  run  away  off  the  surface,  and  where  they 
can  be  watered  with  some  effect  and  get  a  little  shade 
from  the  rocks  about  them.  This  applies  also  to 
Morisia  hypogaea,  a  pretty  little  tufted  cruciferous 
plant,  with  yellow  flowers  that  often  appear  at  the 
end  of  February  and  continue  for  months;  also  in  a 
less  degree  to  Erodium  Reichardii  (or  Chamaedrioides) , 
a  very  minute  prostrate  plant  with  delicate  white 
flowers,  which  sometimes  suffers  from  drought  if 
placed  on  a  dry  slope;  also  to  Aquilegia  pyrenaica, 
the  smallest  of  the  Columbines,  and  a  plant  which 
often  suffers  from  drought  in  English  rock  gardens. 
There  are  also  some  larger  plants  which  need  the  same 
kind  of  treatment  such  as  Daphne  Blagayana  and 
Atragene  (clematis)  alpina.  These  also  like  a  good 
deal  of  sun,  and  yet  will  not  often  endure  the  dryness 
of  steep  slopes  in  the  rock  garden. 

It  is  easy  in  most  rock  gardens  that  are  properly 
planned  and  constructed  to  protect  plants  from  ex- 
cessive moisture.  The  real  difficulty  usually  is  to 
protect  them  from  drought  and  to  know  how  much 
drought  they  will  endure.  On  this  point  only  experi- 
ence can  bring  certain  knowledge;  but  the  gardener 
can  often  guess  a  good  deal  from  the  nature  of  their 
roots  and  of  their  growth.  Shallow-rooting  plants, 


56  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

for  instance,  are  always  likely  to  suffer  from  drought, 
and  also  plants  whose  roots  are  very  fine  and  delicate. 
The  roots  of  some  of  the  more  delicate  Alpines  are 
like  silk,  whereas  the  roots  of  plants  like  the  Aethione- 
mas,  which  will  endure  any  amount  of  drought,  are 
thick  and  strong.  Further,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  a 
plant  which  grows  like  a  tree  from  a  single  trunk  or 
crown  will  need  a  much  smaller  surface  of  soil  in  which 
to  grow  to  its  full  size  than  a  plant  which  spreads  in 
a  mossy  tuft  or  by  means  of  runners  under  the  soil. 
Some  of  the  plants  which  increase  by  means  of  runners 
need  only  a  very  narrow  crevice  or  pocket  between 
the  rocks  in  which  to  spread,  but  it  must  be  long  as 
well  as  narrow.  Such  a  plant,  for  instance,  as  Cam- 
panula pulla  will  thrive  in  a  long  slit  full  of  leaf -mould 
and  rubble,  but  if  confined  by  rocks  on  all  sides  it 
will  soon  die  out.  All  Alpine  plants  must  be  kept 
quite  free  from  drip,  and,  therefore,  no  rocks  must 
overhang  them.  The  plants  of  the  higher  Swiss  Alps 
usually  prefer  a  south-west  or  a  south-east  aspect, 
those  which  suffer  from  drought  or  which  flower  very 
early  doing  best  when  they  look  towards  the  south- 
west. The  Alpines  from  hot  climates,  such  as  the 
Aethionemas,  the  Wahlenbergias  (except  W.  hedera- 
cea,  which  needs  moisture  and  half  shade),  and  the 
Onosmas  should  be  placed  on  a  slope  looking  full 
south.  All  Alpines  when  planted  should  be  pressed 
very  tightly  into  the  ground.  There  is  no  detail  in 
their  culture  more  important  than  this;  and  after  a 
sharp  frost  they  should  be  examined  to  see  whether 


CULTIVATION  OF  ALPINE  PLANTS      57 

the  frost  has  lifted  them  at  all  out  of  the  ground.  If 
it  has,  they  should  be  pressed  back  into  their  places. 
The  best  time  of  planting  for  most  of  the  more  dif- 
ficult Alpines  is  the  early  spring,  or,  if  they  are  raised 
from  seed,  as  soon  in  the  summer  as  they  are  large 
enough  to  plant  out.  It  is  risky,  of  course,  to  plant 
out  small  seedlings  in  May  or  June;  but,  if  they  can 
be  protected  from  drought,  they  will  be  strong  plants 
by  the  autumn;  and,  though  a  few  may  succumb  to 
the  winter,  the  survivors  will  be  much  more  healthy 
than  if  they  had  been  enervated  by  the  protection  of 
a  cold  frame.  For  the  higher  Alpines  all  naturally 
like  as  much  fresh  air  as  they  can  get,  and  a  winter 
in  a  cold  frame  will  often  undermine  their  constitu- 
tions. 

Whenever  it  can  be  done,  the  best  as  well  as  the 
cheapest  way  of  obtaining  Alpine  plants  is  to  raise 
them  from  seed.  Most  of  them  come  readily  from 
seed  if  it  is  sown  as  soon  as  ripe,  and  this  should  al- 
ways be  done,  if  possible.  When  the  seed  cannot  be 
obtained  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe,  it  should  be  sown  about 
the  end  of  March.  The  seed  of  the  rarer  and  more 
delicate  plants  is  best  sown  in  shallow  earthenware 
pans  with,  of  course,  a  hole  for  drainage  at  the  bot- 
tom. The  soil  should  consist  of  a  mixture  of  sand  or 
grit  and  fine  vegetable  soil.  The  pans  should  be 
very  sharply  drained  with  a  mixture  of  crocks  or 
rubble  filling  about  half  the  pan.  The  most  impor- 
tant point  in  the  raising  of  seedlings  is  to  keep  the 
soil  always  fairly  moist;  and  it  is  a  great  help  towards 


58  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

this  to  cover  the  pan  with  a  sheet  of  glass  to  prevent 
evaporation.  This  sheet  must  be  removed  as  soon 
as  there  is  any  danger  of  its  drawing  the  seedlings. 
Watering  must  always  be  done  with  a  very  fine  rose, 
and  care  must  be  taken  not  to  wash  the  seed  all  to 
the  edges  of  the  pan.  To  avoid  this,  and  to  keep  the 
pans  in  an  even  state  of  moisture,  some  gardeners 
place  them  in  troughs  or  basins  with  about  two  inches 
of  water  in  them.  Then  the  water  gets  into  the  pans 
through  the  hole  at  the  bottom  and  keeps  the  soil 
always  fairly  moist.  Where  seed  is  sown  of  very 
rare  or  delicate  plants,  it  is  well  to  follow  this  plan. 
The  seed  of  some  Alpines,  as,  for  instance,  of  the 
Saxifrages  and  some  Campanulas,  is  almost  as  fine 
as  dust.  When  such  very  small  seed  is  sown  it  should 
be  mixed  with  silver  sand  so  that  it  may  not  be  sown 
too  thick,  and  should  be  covered  only  with  the  slight- 
est possible  layer  of  the  same  silver  sand.  When  the 
seedlings  are  up  they  must  be  protected  from  the  hot 
sun,  but  must  have  plenty  of  light  and  air. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  precise  general  directions 
as  to  the  best  soil  for  Alpines,  as  they  vary  a  good 
deal  in  their  requirements.  Some,  for  instance,  need 
lime,  and  to  some  it  is  poison.  It  is  much  to  be  de- 
sired that  some  one  should  make  a  trustworthy  test 
of  the  lime  haters  and  lime  lovers,  based  upon  ob- 
servation and  experiment  in  an  English  garden.  The 
lists  which  have  hitherto  been  made  are  usually  im- 
perfect and  often  erroneous.  Most  Alpine  plants, 
however,  do  not  dislike  lime,  and  a  great  many  are 


,  CULTIVATION  OF  ALPINE  PLANTS      59 

the  better  for  it.  The  best  form  in  which  it  can  be 
given  to  them  by  those  whose  rockwork  does  not 
consist  of  limestone  is  mortar  rubble;  and  a  mixture 
of  one  part  mortar  rubble,  both  grit  and  lumps,  with 
one  part  leaf  mould  or  other  thoroughly  decayed 
vegetable  matter,  and  one  part  fibrous  loam  will  suit 
the  great  majority  of  Alpine  plants  thoroughly.  In 
the  case  of  those  which  dislike  lime,  lumps  and  grit 
of  sandstone  should  be  substituted  for  the  mortar 
rubble.  Speaking  generally,  one  may  say  that  the 
more  difficult  an  Alpine  plant  is  to  grow  the  poorer 
should  be  the  soil  in  which  it  is  planted.  But  such 
plants,  if  planted  in  fine  sand,  would  suffer  much 
from  drought.  They  need  a  soil  consisting  more  than 
half  of  small  lumps  of  rubble  or  rock,  the  rest  being 
mainly  grit,  with  a  very  little  leaf  mould.  The  spe- 
cially prepared  soil  should  not  be  less  than  a  foot,  or, 
in  the  case  of  deep-rooting  plants,  two  feet  deep, 
and  little  pieces  of  rock  or  rubble  should  be  placed 
here  and  there  on  the  surface.  All  these  precautions 
sound  very  elaborate  and  troublesome;  but  the  gar- 
dener who  has  learned  to  take  a  delight  in  Alpine 
plants  delights  also  in  taking  pains  with  them.  Al- 
pine gardening  is  a  game,  and  all  good  games  are 
difficult  to  excel  in. 


COLUMBINES 


'ir^HE  Columbine  is  a  very  old  English  flower; 
JL  indeed,  Aquilegia  vulgaris,  the  common  colum- 
bine, with  short-spurred  flowers  of  a  dull  blue  or  pur- 
ple colour,  grows  wild  in  parts  of  England,  and  may 
be  indigenous.  This  common  columbine  has  always 
been  a  favourite  with  painters,  because  of  its  beauty 
of  form.  There  are  columbines  in  Titian's  "Bacchus 
and  Ariadne,"  and  Diirer  drew  them  with  obvious 
delight.  They  are  a  favourite  flower  in  Italian  em- 
broideries; and  Parkinson,  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury says  that  there  are  many  sorts,  "as  well  differing 
in  form  as  colour  of  the  flowers,  and  of  them  both 
single  and  double  carefully  noursed  up  in  our  gardens 
for  the  delight  both  of  their  forme  and  colours."  Some, 
he  says,  "are  wholly  white,  some  of  a  blue  or  violet 
colour,  others  of  a  blush  or  flesh  colour,  or  deep  or 
pale  red,  or  of  a  dead  purple,  or  dead  murrey  colour, 
as  nature  listeth  to  shew  itself."  Among  the  double 
columbines,  some  he  says,  are  "party-coloured  blue 
and  white  and  spotted  very  variably."  He  enumerates 
five  varieties,  one  being  the  common  single  columbine 
and  the  others  merely  double  forms  of  it.  One  of 
them,  which  he  calls  the  rose  or  star  columbine,  and 
which  has  no  spurs  at  all,  but  all  its  petals  arranged 

"like  unto  a  small  thick  double  rose  laid  open  or  a 

60 


COLUMBINES  61 

spread  marigold,"  has  been  lately  revived  as  a  novelty, 
and  is  certainly  both  a  curious  and  a  pretty  flower. 

But  the  columbine  in  its  finer  forms  is  a  modern 
plant,  and  one  which  may  still  be  much  improved. 
The  beautiful  long-spurred  species  from  North  Amer- 
ica and  Siberia  were  unknown  to  Parkinson,  and 
most  of  them  were  introduced  into  our  gardens  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  They  excel  the  common  colum- 
bine both  in  beauty  of  form  and  in  variety  and  purity 
of  colour.  They  are  inferior  to  it  only  in  vigour; 
and,  luckily,  this  defect  has  been  lessened  and  may 
in  time  be  entirely  removed  by  hybridization;  for 
there  is  no  plant  which  hybridizes  more  readily  than 
the  columbine.  Indeed,  it  hybridizes  too  readily, 
so  that,  unless  a  particular  species  is  kept  far  apart 
from  others,  there  is  no  telling  what  its  offspring  will 
be  like.  But  this  is  a  fault  on  the  right  side;  for, 
although  one  may  be  disappointed  with  many  seed- 
ling columbines  grossly  inferior  to  a  beautiful  parent, 
yet  there  is  always  a  good  chance  that  some  will  be 
superior;  and  the  ordinary  amateur,  by  merely  saving 
seed  from  the  best  varieties  and  without  any  skill 
in  hybridization,  may  in  a  few  years  obtain  a  splendid 
strain  of  columbines.  Indeed,  he  may,  if  he  cares  to 
give  up  a  good-sized  plot  of  ground  to  their  culture 
and  if  he  selects  his  seed  judiciously,  obtain  a  race  of 
plants  surpassing  most  of  those  sold  by  the  florists. 
For  the  beautiful  long-spurred  hybrids  now  on  the 
market  are  too  apt  to  have  the  rather  delicate  con- 
stitution of  Aquilegia  coerulea,  and  others  of  their 


62  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

North  American  parents.  The  amateur  should  aim 
at  obtaining  plants  with  the  vigour  of  growth  of 
Aquilegia  vulgaris  and  the  beauty  of  flower  of  the 
long-spurred  species.  The  best  way  of  doing  this  is 
to  plant  some  of  the  better  forms  of  Aquilegia  vul- 
garis among  the  long-spurred  species.  The  result 
will  be,  no  doubt,  that  many  inferior  seedlings  will 
be  obtained,  which  should  be  destroyed  as  soon  as 
they  betray  their  inferiority;  but  there  will  also 
probably  be  some  splendid  plants  with  the  virtues 
both  of  Aquilegia  vulgaris  and  of  the  long-spurred 
species,  plants  growing  3  ft.  or  more  high  and  with 
multitudes  of  large  blossoms,  blue  and  white,  pink  and 
white,  pink  and  cream,  purple  and  white,  purple  and 
cream,  and  red  and  yellow.  From  these  alone  should 
seed  be  saved,  and  they  should,  if  possible,  be  isolated 
from  inferior  varieties.  This  kind  of  selection  may  be 
carried  on  indefinitely,  and,  if  so  carried  on,  ought  to 
produce  results  beyond  any  yet  obtainecj. 

There  are  now  a  good  many  species  of  columbine 
which  can  be  cultivated  in  our  gardens,  and  an  infinite 
number  of  varieties  of  these  species  and  of  hybrids. 
The  varieties,  for  instance,  of  Aquilegia  vulgaris  are 
quite  numerous.  There  is  a  fine  white  variety  with 
larger  flowers  than  the  type,  which  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  vigorous  and  easily  grown  of  all  columbines. 
It  is,  however,  a  dangerous  plant  for  those  who  wish 
to  obtain  a  fine  strain  of  long-spurred  hybrids,  since 
it  intermarries  profusely  with  all  columbines  grown 
anywhere  near  it,  and  the  offspring  are  apt  to  be  an 


COLUMBINES  63 

exact  likeness  of  the  white  parent,  no  matter  what 
the  form  or  the  colours  of  the  other  parent  may  have 
been.  There  is  also  a  very  pretty  marbled  blue  and 
white  variety  of  Aquilegia  vulgaris,  no  doubt  that 
which  Parkinson  speaks  of  as  party-coloured  blue 
and  white  and  spotted  very  variably.  There  is  a 
dwarf  form  with  dark  blue  double  flowers,  a  variety 
with  leaves  mottled  with  yellow,  and  one  called  Witt- 
manniana  with  purple  and  white  flowers.  The  double 
varieties  are  sometimes  neat  and  curious,  but  not 
so  beautiful  in  form  as  the  single. 

The  species  which  has  been  most  valuable  in  hybrid- 
izing is  Aquilegia  caerulea,  a  most  beautiful  plant  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  with  large  blue  and  white 
flowers  and  very  long  spurs.  It  only  grows  about  a 
foot  high,  and  is  more  delicate  both  in  appearance 
and  in  constitution  than  most  columbines.  It  does 
not  usually  flourish  for  very  long  in  our  gardens,  and 
often  begins  to  dwindle  away  after  flowering  well 
for  two  years.  Luckily,  it  can  be  raised  very  easily 
from  seed,  although  it  is  sometimes  rather  difficult 
to  obtain  a  strain  of  seed  that  comes  true.  It  is  said, 
indeed,  that  seed  always  should  come  from  its  native 
home,  and  some  seedsmen  sell  seed  directly  imported. 
The  seed  should  be  sown  in  spring,  so  that  the  plants 
may  be  strong  enough  to  plant  out  in  their  permanent 
homes  in  early  autumn.  If  they  are  planted  out  late, 
they  often  succumb  to  our  winters.  Where  the  soil 
is  heavy  and  cold,  they  should  be  planted  out  in 
spring.  Aquilegia  caerulea  likes  a  light,  rich  soil  with 


64  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

plenty  of  vegetable  matter  in  it,  and  a  fairly  cool 
place.  It  is  an  excellent  plant  for  the  north  side  of  a 
large  rock  garden.  There  is  a  rare  white  form,  and 
also  a  yellow  one  which  often  appears  in  a  batch  of 
seedlings,  but  is  inferior  to  the  type. 

Aquilegia  canadensis  has  light  scarlet  and  yellow 
flowers,  long-spurred,  but  smaller  than  those  of  A. 
caerulea.  It  has  also  a  stronger  constitution,  and 
will  flower  well  in  our  gardens  for  some  years.  Aqui- 
legia chrysantha  is  another  long-spurred  species  from 
North  America,  with  soft  yellow  flowers.  It  is  a  very 
vigorous  species,  almost  as  vigorous  as  A.  vulgaris; 
and  there  are  several  varieties  of  it,  including  a  double 
one.  It  deserves  a  place  in  every  garden.  Aquilegia 
californica  is  yellow  and  orange,  and  also  a  vigorous 
tall-growing  plant.  It  has  produced  several  hybrids, 
some  superior  to  both  species.  Aquilegia  Skinneri, 
a  species  from  Central  America,  is  also  red  and  yellow, 
and  a  very  bright-coloured  flower.  It  has  been  used 
a  good  deal  in  hybridization;  the  hybrids  with  A. 
vulgaris  are  more  vigorous  than  the  species,  and  very 
various  in  colour  and  form.  A.  Skinneri  itself,  coming 
from  a  hot  climate,  is  not  very  vigorous  in  our  gar- 
dens, particularly  in  a  heavy  or  cold  soil.  Aquilegia 
Jaeschkanii  is  a  hybrid,  also  with  yellow  and  red 
flowers. 

There  are  several  species  of  columbines  from  Si- 
beria; but  the  only  one  well  known  is  Aquilegia  glan- 
dulosa.  This  resembles  Aquilegia  caerulea  in  colour 
and  in  the  delicacy  of  its  beauty;  but  it  is  more  com- 


COLUMBINES  65 

pact  and  upright  in  growth,  its  spurs  are  rather  shorter 
and  its  flowers  not  so  widely  opened.  Its  leaves  are 
even  more  delicately  cut,  and  it  flowers  some  weeks 
earlier.  Besides  being  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  columbines,  it  is  unfortunately  one  of  the  few  that 
are  difficult  to  grow,  often  dying  out  quickly  in  Eng- 
lish1 gardens,  and  sometimes  refusing  to  flower  at 
all.  It  must  never  be  disturbed  while  at  rest,  but 
should  be  moved,  if  at  all,  after  it  has  flowered.  It 
is  best  grown  from  seed  sown  as  soon  as  ripe  or  in 
spring;  and  the  seedlings  should  be  placed  in  their 
permanent  homes  as  soon  as  they  are  large  enough 
to  be  moved;  or,  if  they  are  not  large  enough  till  late 
in  the  year,  they  should  be  left  till  the  spring,  and 
wintered  in  a  cold  frame.  There  is  still  a  good  deal  of 
uncertainty  about  the  conditions  which  suit  Aquilegia 
glandulosa  best,  as  it  is  a  most  capricious  plant.  But 
it  seems  to  prefer  a  light  soil  enriched  with  humus 
and  a  rather  cool  situation.  Drought  will  often  kill 
it  off  quickly.  It  should  have  a  westerly  or  north- 
westerly aspect,  as  the  flower-buds  form  very  early 
and  are  apt  to  be  withered  up  by  the  morning  sun, 
when  it  follows  a  sharp  frost.  It  is  a  plant  well  worth 
trying  on  sheltered  north-westerly  slopes  of  the  rock 
garden;  and  it  may  be  that  a  dash  of  lime  in  the  soil 
will  assist  its  growth.  Some  people  say  that  it  likes 
a  heavily  manured  soil;  but  manure  is  probably  more 


*May  and  June  in  the  United  States.  A.  glandulosa,  according  to 
Bailey,  is  likely  to  flower  only  two  or  three  years,  and  should  be  treated 
as  an  annual.  L.  Y.  K. 


66  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

useful  to  it  as  a  protection  against  drought  than  a 
nourishment,  and  should  be  placed  well  below  the 
roots,  or  used  as  a  top-dressing  in  hot  weather,  if  ap- 
plied at  all.  At  any  rate,  a  plant  so  beautiful  is  worth 
some  trouble.  Aquilegia  Stuartii  is  a  hybrid  between 
A.  glandulosa  and  A.  vulgaris  Wittmanniana.  It  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  columbines,  being 
in  appearance  simply  a  finer  variety  of  A.  glandulosa. 
It  is  also  capricious.  It  appears  to  do  better  in  Scot- 
land than  in  England;  and  the  late  Dr.  Stuart,  who 
raised  it,  seems  to  have  had  little  difficulty  with  it. 
It  should  be  cultivated  in  the  same  way  as  A.  glan- 
dulosa, but  should  be  increased  by  division,  as  seed- 
lings seldom  come  true;  and  division  should  be  done 
very  carefully  with  a  sharp  knife  after  the  plants  have 
flowered.  A.  Stuartii  is  a  plant  which  appeared  to  be 
almost  extinct  a  few  years  ago;  but  in  the  last  year  or 
so  some  very  fine  forms  of  it  have  been  raised,  forms 
surpassing  in  beauty  any  other  columbines;  and  it 
would  be  well  if  further  experiments  were  made  in 
hybridizing  A.  glandulosa  with  other  varieties  of  A. 
vulgaris.  In  the  case  of  A.  Stuartii,  we  believe,  the 
pollen  of  A.  glandulosa  was  used.  There  seems  to 
be  no  reason  why  plants  should  not  in  time  be  pro- 
duced with  the  delicate  beauty  of  A.  glandulosa  and 
the  vigour  of  A.  vulgaris,  and  also  with  some  variety 
of  colour.  Aquilegia  alpina  is  a  plant  which  is  very 
seldom  seen  true  in  English  gardens,  and  which  ap- 
pears to  lose  a  great  deal  of  its  beauty  in  captivity. 
The  true  species  has  large  blue  flowers  and  grows  less 


COLUMBINES  67 

than  a  foot  high,  and  there  is  a  variety  with  white 
and  blue  flowers  more  beautiful  even  than  this  type. 
Aquilegia  pyrenaica  is  the  smallest  of  all  columbines 
and  a  beautiful  plant  for  the  rock  garden.  It  grows 
about  half  a  foot  high,  and  has  soft  blue  flowers  with 
bright  golden  anthers.  The  foliage  is  almost  as  delicate 
as  that  of  a  maidenhair  fern.  This,  again,  is  a  plant 
which  is  seldom  seen  true  in  English  gardens.  Most 
nurserymen  sell  for  it  a  fine  dwarf  variety  of  A.  vulgaris 
flowering  very  early,  whereas  A.  pyrenaica  is  a  per- 
fectly distinct  plant  and  the  latest  flowering  of  all 
columbines.  It  seems  to  be  difficult  to  raise  from 
seed,  unless  the  seed  is  sown  when  just  ripe;  but  it 
is  not  difficult  to  grow  in  a  cool  part  of  the  rock  gar- 
den in  light  soil  with  a  good  deal  of  leaf -mould.  It 
does  not  always  ripen  seed  in  England. 

There  are  a  good  many  other  species  of  columbines; 
but  we  have  mentioned  most  of  those  which  are  most 
distinct  and  beautiful.  Columbines,  but  for  a  few 
exceptions,  are  easily  grown  in  most  English  gardens; 
and  the  North  American  species,  which  do  not  last 
many  years,  are  probably  not  true  perennials  in  their 
own  country.  Indeed,  all  columbines  are  usually  at 
their  best  in  the  first  or  second  year  of  flowering, 
and  should  be  frequently  renewed  from  seed.  Luckily 
they  are  among  the  easiest  of  plants  to  raise  from  seed, 
and  many  kinds  will  reproduce  themselves  freely, 
especially  in  light  soil.  The  seed  may  be  sown  as  soon 
as  ripe,  in  which  case  many  of  the  seedlings  will  flower 
the  next  year;  or  else  in  May,  when  if  well  treated 


68  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

the  seedlings  are  sure  to  flower  the  next  year.  The 
safest  plan  is  to  sow  the  seed  in  boxes  in  a  soil  made 
light  and  rich  with  leaf-mould.  The  seed  usually 
takes  some  weeks  to  germinate;  and  the  seedlings 
should  be  kept  moist  and  lightly  shaded,  and  planted 
out  as  soon  as  they  are  large  enough.  If  plants  are 
bought,  they  can  be  planted  in  early  autumn  or  in 
spring.  In  a  light  soil  they  are  best  planted  in  autumn. 
Columbines  can  also  be  increased  by  division,  but 
this  must  be  carefully  done  with  a  sharp  knife;  and 
divided  plants  are  seldom  so  vigorous  as  seedlings. 
The  short-lived  North  American  species,  such  as 
Aquilegia  caerulea,  are  not  worth  dividing  and  should 
always  be  raised  from  seed.  Columbines  like  a  cool 
place,  particularly  in  a  light  soil,  and  many  of  the 
more  vigorous  kinds  grow  well  under  the  shade  of 
trees.  They  are  seen  at  their  best,  however,  in  a  cool 
half-shaded  border  well  enriched  with  manure  and 
humus.  In  such  conditions  some  of  the  most  vigorous 
hybrids  will  grow  to  a  great  size  and  bear  hundreds 
of  blossoms  for  several  years.  These  hybrids,  though 
they  may  not  have  all  the  delicate  beauty  of  Aquilegia 
glandulosa  or  Stuartii  or  caerulea,  are  better  worth 
growing  for  the  ordinary  gardener,  as  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  their  culture,  and  they  are  infinitely 
varied  in  the  colour  and  form  of  their  flowers  and  in 
their  foliage.  They  are,  indeed,  among  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  garden  plants;  and,  as  we  have  said, 
there  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  they  should  not  be 
made  still  more  beautiful.  Nor  is  there  any  reason 


COLUMBINES  69 

to  fear  lest  their  flowers  should  be  made  too  large;  for 
the  best  hybrids  have  a  growth  and  leafage  vigorous 
in  proportion  to  the  size  of  their  flowers,  and  double 
columbines,  luckily,  are  quite  out  of  fashion,  being 
found  usually  only  among  the  varieties  of  Aquilegia 
vulgaris.  In  fact  the  columbine  is  a  flower  of  the 
future  even  more  than  of  the  present. 


APRIL  NOTES  IN  THE  GARDEN1 

THIS  year  we  have  had  some  of  the  wild  capri- 
cious glories  of  a  mountain  spring;  no  weeks 
of  dull  east  wind  to  keep  the  colour  out  of  the  sky 
and  the  early  flowers;  but  first  of  all  continuous  sun- 
shine all  day  with  hoar  frosts  at  night,  and  then  tor- 
rents of  rain,  and  one  night  a  fierce  snowstorm  fol- 
lowed by  a  day  of  showers  and  warm  sunlight.  That 
was  a  day,  indeed,  that  reminded  one  of  a  Swiss  April, 
and  one  almost  expected  to  see  the  gentians  shining 
blue  through  the  melting  snow  on  the  hillsides.  Snow 
showers  of  this  kind  do  little  harm  if  unaccompanied 
by  frost,  and  if  no  spell  of  east  wind  follows  them. 
More  harm  was  done  by  the  earlier  alternations  of 
bright  sunlight  and  frost;  but  even  these  came  too 
early  to  be  really  disastrous.  They  caused  the  blue 
flowers  of  spring,  the  Chionodoxas  and  the  first  Squills, 
to  fade  quickly,  and  they  injured  the  flowers  of  the 
early  Daffodils  and  Irises.  They  also  stunted  the  stalks 

1  The  reader  should  remember  that  for  gardens  in  the  latitude  of  Boston, 
at  least  one  month's  difference  must  be  allowed  for  blooming-period  of 
most  of  the  subjects  named  in  this  chapter.  Tulip  Kaufmanniana  for  in- 
stance, in  the  more  northern  parts  of  the  United  States  seldom  appears 
before  early  April;  and  the  "early  April  tulips  "  (presumably  the  single  and 
double  florists'  varieties)  need  not  be  looked  for  here  until  late  April  or 
early  May.  This  chapter  therefore  is  somewhat  inapplicable  to  the  Amer- 
ican climate.  For  its  general  interest  and  beauty  it  could  not,  however, 
be  left  out.  L.  Y.  K. 

70 


APRIL  NOTES  IN  THE  GARDEN        71 

of  the  April  Tulips;  but  these  are  now  lengthening 
rapidly  with  the  rain,  and  everything  promises  well, 
if  only  we  can  now  have  some  sunshine  to  warm  the 
sodden  ground.  The  winter  was  unusually  trying  for 
delicate  plants,  since  the  warmth  of  the  earlier  months 
forced  them  into  growth,  and  then,  when  they  had 
forgotten  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  winter,  there 
came  a  bitter  spell  in  February,  with  not  only  frost, 
but  cutting  north-east  winds.  These  do  more  harm 
than  the  frosts  themselves,  particularly  to  shrubs 
that  are  not  quite  hardy,  and  even  to  shrubs  that  will 
endure  any  amount  of  frost  at  the  roots.  Of  twelve 
plants  of  Lithospermum  prostratum,  planted  on  the 
north-western  slope  of  a  rock  garden,  seven  that  were 
sheltered  by  rocks  from  the  north-east  wind  are  scath- 
less;  the  other  five,  unsheltered,  had  nearly  all  their 
branches  killed  and  are  now  only  just  beginning  to 
sprout  from  the  stock.  The  shelter  was  only  slight,  a 
rock  rising  a  few  inches  above  the  soil,  on  the  north- 
east side  of  the  plants,  but  it  was  sufficient  to  protect 
them,  and  they  will  be  covered  with  blossom  in  a  few 
weeks,  while  the  others  will  take  months  to  recover. 
Thus  it  is  that  the  gardener  learns  hard  lessons  from 
adversity.  Lithospermum  prostratum  is  often  said 
to  be  a  capricious  plant.  What  it  needs  is  protection 
from  north-east  winds,  rocks  to  keep  its  roots  cool  if  it 
is  in  a  hot  soil  or  situation,  and  a  light  rich  soil  quite 
free  from  lime.  Then  it  will  flourish  and  prove  itself 
to  be  the  finest  of  all  rock  plants. 

The  rock  garden  is  already  full  of  things  to  see. 


72  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

The  first  irises  are  over;  but  Iris  orchioides  is  out, 
rather  late  perhaps,  since  it  was  planted  only  last 
year;  and  so  is  its  cousin,  Iris  sindjarensis,  and  the  yet 
more  beautiful  Iris  Willmottiana.  Narcissus  nanus  is 
in  full  blossom  on  a  northern  slope,  making  a  vivid 
contrast  with  the  blue  Scilla  sibirica.  This  is  the 
most  useful  of  all,  perhaps,  of  the  small  rock  narcissi. 
It  is  larger  than  Narcissus  minimus  and  flowers  later, 
but  it  has  a  more  graceful  habit  of  growth,  and  it  is 
not  too  large  for  the  smallest  rockery.  It  has  not  the 
delicate  beauty  of  Narcissus  triandus  albus,  but  it  is 
far  easier  to  grow;  and  in  a  light  sandy  soil  on  a  north- 
ern slope  it  increases  in  numbers  and  in  beauty  from 
year  to  year.  Unfortunately  it  is  rather  scarce,  and 
many  nurserymen  sell  N.  lobularis  under  its  name. 
N.  lobularis  is  a  pretty  daffodil,  but  much  larger, 
almost  as  large,  indeed,  as  the  English  wild  daffodil, 
and  it  is  better  suited  to  the  grass  than  to  a  small 
rock  garden.  Narcissus  cyclamineus,  another  rock 
daffodil  of  great  beauty,  is  going  over.  It  likes  more 
shade  than  N.  nanus,  and,  provided  it  is  in  shade,  will 
thrive  even  on  a  dry  rooty  bank.  It  does  not  die  out, 
like  some  small  daffodils,  but  endures  as  well  as  N. 
nanus.  N.  minor  is  said  to  be  superior  to  N.  nanus, 
but  there  is  not  much  difference  between  them,  and 
N.  minor  is  more  expensive. 

This  spring  of  Alpine  weather  has  favoured  the 
rapid  growth  of  Alpine  plants,  which  is  often  checked 
and  stunted  by  our  March  and  April  east  winds. 
No  amount  of  experience  can  abate  one's  wonder  at 


APRIL  NOTES  IN  THE  GARDEN        73 

the  swiftness  with  which  plants  that  seem  to  be  dead 
one  week  are  in  full  leaf  and  even  in  bud  a  fortnight 
later.  The  Aethionemas,  for  instance,  were  all  cut 
back  by  the  bitter  wind  of  February,  after  keeping 
their  leaves  fresh  and  green  until  then.  Their  branches 
seemed  to  be  quite  dead,  and  one  could  not  but  fear 
lest  their  roots  were  dead  too.  But  then,  one  day, 
all  those  withered  branches  were  covered  with  little 
green  tufts,  and  a  few  days  later  with  little  green 
leaves,  and  then,  as  the  tufts  opened,  there  were  pink 
buds  in  the  heart  of  them;  and  now,  if  we  have  warm 
weather  and  sunshine,  Aethionema  coridifolium  and 
A.  pulchellum  will  begin  to  flower  in  a  few  weeks. 
No  plant  is  more  rapid  in  throwing  up  its  flowering 
stalks  than  the  little  biennial  Androsace  coronopifolia. 
It  is  best  to  sow  this  plant  where  it  is  to  flower;  and 
even  then  it  often  seems  to  pine  through  our  winters. 
But  with  the  first  warm  weather  slender  stalks  rise 
from  the  tufts  as  they  change  from  bronze  to  green, 
and  now  these  stalks  have  a  starry  crown  of  white 
flowers  that  will  continue  for  several  months.  An- 
drosace lactea  is  a  perennial  with  much  the  same 
habit  of  growth  and  with  flowers  of  even  more  delicate 
beauty,  which  is  now  in  full  bud  after  seeming  to 
resent  the  freaks  of  an  English  winter  as  much  as  A. 
coronopifolia.  Androsace  carnea  is  in  flower  with 
blossoms  of  delicate  pink,  and  is  sending  out  green 
shoots  in  all  directions  among  the  leaf-mould  with 
which  it  has  been  dressed.  Nearly  all  delicate  Alpines 
need  to  be  dressed  with  leaf-mould  when  they  start 


74  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

into  growth  in  the  spring,  and  many  will  shrivel  up 
and  die  when  the  east  winds  blow  for  want  of  it.  Gen- 
tiana  verna  and  Dianthus  alpinus  are  now  throwing 
out  little  shoots,  just  like  Androsace  verna,  and  but 
for  the  leaf-mould  they  would  probably  have  made 
no  growth  at  all. 

Primula  nivalis  is  in  full  bloom,  and  is  certainly 
the  best  of  the  Alpine  primulas,  flowering  more  freely 
than  any  others,  and  surpassing  them  all  in  the  beauty 
of  its  milk  white  blossoms.  Though  it  looks  to  be 
the  most  Alpine  of  flowers,  it  is  really  a  garden  plant, 
being,  we  believe,  a  white  form  of  Primula  pubescens. 
It  likes  a  westerly  or  north-westerly  aspect,  and  is 
quite  easy  to  grow  even  on  level  ground  in  light  rich 
soil,  but  it  shows  its  true  beauty  only  among  the 
rocks.  It  does  not  seem  to  suffer  at  all  from  our  win- 
ters, and  may  be  safely  planted  in  early  autumn. 
The  mountain  Tulips  are,  some  of  them,  in  flower, 
some  in  full  bud,  and  some  already  over.  Tulipa 
Kaufmanniana  is  really  large  enough  for  a  border 
plant;  but  most  people  grow  it  on  the  rockery  because 
it  probably  needs  sharp  drainage.  It  was  introduced 
only  a  few  years  ago,  and  is  almost  the  earliest  to 
flower  and  the  most  beautiful  of  all  Tulips.  It  is 
now  over,  but  in  the  middle  of  March  its  blossoms 
began  to  open,  at  first  creamy  white  and  then  flushed 
with  pink  on  the  outside,  while  the  inside  has  a  golden 
centre  like  that  of  a  water-lily.  It  suffers  little  from 
any  caprices  of  the  weather,  and  its  great  blossoms, 
in  their  last  glory,  looked  strange  as  they  opened  above 


APRIL  NOTES  IN  THE  GARDEN        75 

the  snow-covered  ground  last  Sunday  morning.  Tulipa 
biflora,  a  beautiful  little  species,  with  several  white 
blossoms  on  a  stalk,  is  also  in  flower  now.  There  ap- 
pears to  be  a  dwarfer  variety  of  this,  called  Afghanica, 
which  is  an  excellent  plant  for  the  rock  garden  and 
very  easy  to  grow,  increasing  in  ordinary  well-drained 
soil.  Tulipa  lownei,  a  dwarf  Tulip  with  delicate  pink 
blossoms,  is  passing  over,  and  so  is  T.  pulchella,  a 
pretty  red  Tulip  marked  inside  like  a  Calochortus. 
These  are  apt  to  suffer  and  even  to  die  under  severe 
frosts  in  March,  unless  grown  in  a  warm  protected 
situation.  Tulipa  Batalinii  and  T.  linifolia  come  late 
enough  to  be  safe  usually  from  such  dangers  —  they 
will  not  flower  for  some  weeks  yet  —  and  they  are  the 
most  beautiful,  perhaps,  of  all  the  small  mountain 
Tulips,  the  first  having  creamy  yellow  flowers  edged 
with  a  thread  of  crimson,  the  second  being  all  of  a 
scarlet  that  seems  to  glow  with  its  own  fire.  Both 
have  leaves  that  spread  out  prostrate  on  the  ground, 
and  are  curiously  crinkled.  T.  linifolia  is  supposed 
to  be  capricious;  but  it  is  fairly  sure  to  succeed  on  a 
southern  bank  in  a  rubbly  soil.  T.  batalinii  is  as  easily 
grown  as  most  Tulips.  They  both  look  their  best 
rising  through  a  carpet  of  some  close-growing  stone- 
crop  such  as  Sedum  glaucum,  whose  roots  are  too 
shallow  to  interfere  with  the  bulbs,  and  whose  leaves 
are  not  thick  enough  to  prevent  them  from  ripening 
well  in  the  summer. 

The  Aubrietias   are   fast   coming   into   full   flower. 
Such  excellent  strains  of  seed  are  now  sold  that  it  is 


76  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

scarcely  worth  while  to  buy  the  named  varieties,  many 
of  which  differ  but  little  from  each  other.  A  packet 
of  seed  selected  from  the  newer  sorts  will  usually  pro- 
duce plants  of  all  -sorts  of  colours,  from  deep  purple 
through  pale  purple  to  pink  and  almost  deep  crim- 
son. The  plants  vary  in  quality  of  course  from  seed, 
some  having  small  and  washy-coloured  flowers;  but 
these  can  be  dug  up  if  the  seedlings  are  planted  fairly 
close  the  first  year,  and  the  better  plants  will  soon 
cover  the  blank  spaces.  No  plant  is  more  easily  raised 
from  seed  than  Aubrietia.  If  it  is  sown  in  boxes  in 
April,  hundreds  of  good-sized  plants  will  be  ready  to 
plant  out  in  the  autumn.  When  the  plants  grow 
straggly  they  should  be  cut  back,  and  they  will  spring 
up  with  renewed  vigour.  The  spring  Phloxes  are  just 
coming  into  bloom.  These  beautiful  plants  are  still 
much  less  grown  than  they  should  be,  although  they 
are  most  of  them  very  easy  to  manage.  Of  Phlox 
subulata  there  are  now  many  varieties,  some  with 
long  trailing  branches,  some  closely  tufted.  These 
latter  are  apt  to  be  a  little  more  difficult  than  the 
former.  Phlox  Nelsoni,  for  instance,  should  be  dis- 
turbed as  little  as  possible,  and  grows  best  on  a  flat 
piece  of  ground  in  full  sun.  Its  white  flowers  make  a 
beautiful  contrast  with  the  bright  pink  ones  of  Phlox 
Vivid.  The  Trailing  Phloxes,  of  which  Phlox  G.  F. 
Wilson  with  very  pale  lavender  flowers  is  one  of  the 
best,  are  very  easy  to  propagate,  as  long-rooted  trailers 
can  be  detached  in  the  autumn  and  all  quickly  grow 
into  strong  plants.  The  tufted  kinds  are  a  little  more 


APRIL  NOTES  IN  THE  GARDEN        77 

difficult.  Cuttings  often  fail  to  strike,  and  the  best 
plan  is  to  put  some  leaf-mould  round  the  plants  in 
spring.  The  shoots  will  root  in  this,  and  they  can 
be  detached  in  early  autumn,  and,  if  protected  from 
drought  when  planted,  will  stand  the  winter  in  the 
open  ground.  Phlox  amoena  is  not  so  pretty  in  growth 
as  the  different  varieties  of  Phlox  subulata;  but  it 
flowers  very  early,  and  its  pink  blossoms  are  beautiful. 
It  grows  at  a  great  pace,  and  can  be  propagated  by 
simply  breaking  off  pieces  close  to  the  ground  and 
planting  them  in  the  open  in  early  autumn.  Phlox 
divaricata  and  P.  ovata  are  fine  species  which  flower 
later. 

The  rock  garden  at  this  time  of  year  is  more  in- 
teresting than  the  border,  since  Alpine  plants  are 
more  rapid  in  their  spring  growth  than  the  plants 
of  the  lowlands  that  have  a  longer  season  of  activity; 
but  borders  are,  or  ought  to  be,  rapidly  putting  on 
their  beauty.  Pansies  and  Forget-me-nots  are  com- 
ing out  —  the  early  Myosotis  dissitiflora  is  in  full 
bloom  —  the  April  Tulips  are  beginning  to  flower, 
and  the  Wallflowers  are  in  bud.  Wallflowers  this 
year  are  poorer  than  usual,  since  many  gardeners 
were  unable  to  shift  their  seedlings  in  the  drought 
of  last  summer.  This  shifting  of  seedlings  as  soon  as 
they  are  about  three  inches  high  is  one  of  the  most 
important  details  in  the  culture  of  Wallflowers,  and 
the  neglect  of  it  is  the  chief  reason  why  they  are  often 
poorly  grown  even  in  pretentious  gardens.  Indeed, 
there  are  some  gardeners  who  can  grow  Orchids  better 


78  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

than  Wallflowers,  for  the  Wallflower,  though  a  hum- 
ble plant,  requires  a  certain  treatment  a  little  out 
of  the  ordinary  routine.  The  seed  should  be  sown 
very  thinly  in  the  open  border  and  in  poor  soil,  about 
the  beginning  of  May.  The  seedlings  should  never 
be  allowed  to  get  crowded.  When  they  are  about 
three  inches  high  they  should  be  shifted,  so  that  they 
may  not  make  long  tap  roots  and  be  difficult  to  move 
later  on.  They  should  have  their  crowns  pinched  out 
a  little  later,  so  that  they  may  break  into  compact 
bushy  plants,  and  in  early  October  they  should  be 
moved  into  their  quarters  for  the  next  spring,  and 
planted  very  firmly  in  the  ground.  If  by  this  time 
they  have  made  long  tap  roots  and  grown  leggy  and 
straggling,  they  will  resent  moving,  and  very  likely 
die  off  in  the  winter. 

Daffodils  in  the  grass  are  now  within  a  few  weeks 
of  their  prime.  Some  of  the  earlier  kinds,  such  as  the 
Tenby  daffodil  and  pallidus  praecox  are  going  over; 
and  Princeps  is  now  in  full  bloom.  Pallidus  praecox, 
the  most  beautiful  of  the  earlier  kinds,  is  rather  capri- 
cious. It  usually  dies  out  soon  in  a  border,  but  will 
often  last  for  years  in  the  grass  on  a  northerly  half- 
shaded  slope.  Even  the  Tenby  Daffodil  thrives  better 
in  the  grass,  though  it  is  supposed  to  be  a  vigorous 
variety  anywhere.  Princeps  is  one  of  the  easiest  of 
Daffodils.  Its  flowers  look  rather  commonplace  when 
picked  or  in  the  border,  but  they  have  a  peculiar 
beauty  in  the  grass.  There  is  no  Daffodil,  however, 
to  equal  the  Queen  of  Spain  as  a  grass  flower.  Bulbs 


APRIL  NOTES  IN  THE  GARDEN        79 

planted  last  autumn  are  now  in  full  blossom.  Since 
they  are  all  imported  from  Portugal,  they  flower 
some  weeks  earlier  than  bulbs  that  have  been  some 
years  in  English  ground.  The  Queen  of  Spain  often 
dies  out  quickly  in  a  border,  particularly  if  the  soil 
is  rich.  In  the  grass,  in  a  northerly  half-shaded  slope 
full  of  the  roots  of  trees,  it  flourishes  as  well  as  in  its 
native  home,  and  it  surpasses  nearly  all  the  most 
costly  new  varieties  in  beauty.  There  is  still  a  good 
deal  of  uncertainty  about  the  question  what  bulbs 
will  thrive  in  the  grass  and  what  will  not.  Tulipa 
silvestris,  for  instance,  is  supposed  to  be  an  excellent 
grass  plant;  but  the  present  writer  finds  that  it  ceases 
to  flower  and  dwindles  away  in  the  grass  after  a  year 
or  two.  Tulips  in  this  respect  are  peculiarly  uncertain. 
It  is  probable  that  those  which  require  great  summer 
heat  to  ripen  them  off  are  kept  too  cool  by  a  covering 
of  grass;  but  this  scarcely  applies  to  T.  silvestris, 
which  is  a  native  species.  It  is  to  be  desired  that  some 
one  should  make  large  experiments  with  Tulips  in  the 
grass  and  should  publish  the  results;  but  few  gardeners 
would  care  to  sacrifice  a  great  number  of  bulbs  for 
the  public  good.  Grape  Hyacinths  of  all  kinds  seem 
to  thrive  even  in  coarse  grass,  so  do  Ornithogalum 
umbellatum,  O.  nutans,  and  O.  pyramidale.  Scilla 
sibirica  is  apt  to  dwindle  in  coarse  grass,  and  so  are 
the  Chionodoxas  and  Pushkinia  libanotica.  The  more 
vigorous  Alliums  will  thrive  in  grass  not  too  coarse 
and  in  full  sun.  A.  neapolitanum  will  soon  be  in 
flower.  Fritillaria  Meleagris,  of  course,  is  at  home 


80  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

in  the  grass.  There  appears  to  be  a  common  idea 
that  it  will  grow  only  in  the  Thames  valley  and  other 
particular  localities;  but  it  is  quite  an  easy  plant  in 
most  places,  where  the  soil  is  not  too  hot  and  poor. 
The  Crown  Imperial  (F.  imperialis)  will  grow  in  the 
grass  only  where  the  soil  is  rich  and  rather  heavy. 
It  dwindles  after  a  year  or  two  in  a  light  soil  and  re- 
fuses to  flower.  It  would  be  an  interesting  experi- 
ment to  sow  a  patch  of  ground  with  some  short  moun- 
tain grass  and  plant  several  tufts  of  Gentiana  acaulis 
in  it.  They  might  thrive;  and  then,  again,  they  might 
not.  This  plant  is  one  of  the  most  capricious  in  exis- 
tence. Last  year  it  flowered  profusely  even  in  poor 
soils.  This  year  it  is  more  flowerless  than  usual.  It 
will  prosper  like  a  weed  in  some  places,  and  in  others, 
with  apparently  the  same  conditions,  it  will  do  nothing. 
The  old  idea  was  that  it  ought  to  be  left  alone;  but 
this  treatment  is  of  no  avail  where  the  crowns  grow 
smaller  and  smaller.  The  best  plan  in  such  a  case  is 
to  dig  it  up  in  wet  weather,  in  spring,  and  to  plant 
each  separate  crown  with  plenty  of  space  to  itself. 
It  ought  to  be  coming  into  flower  now,  and  with  some 
lucky  gardeners  perhaps  it  is.  With  the  present  writer 
it  is  not. 


PINKS 

PINKS  are  common  enough  in  our  gardens,  yet 
they  are  not  grown  so  much  or  so  well  as  they 
might  be,  and  the  florists  are  so  taken  up  with  carna- 
tions that  they  have  rather  neglected  the  possibilities 
of  the  pink.  No  doubt  carnations  are  worthy  of  all 
the  pains  that  have  been  spent  upon  them;  no  pinks 
can  compare  with  them  in  variety  of  colour,  and  few 
in  duration  of  flowering  period.  But  carnations  ex- 
act much  care  and  skill  if  they  are  to  be  grown  really 
well,  and  need  to  be  constantly  renewed;  whereas 
many  pinks  ask  for  nothing  but  a  sunny  place  and  a 
well-drained  soil  to  thrive  for  years  without  attention. 
Carnations,  too,  often  need  to  be  carefully  staked; 
and  this  is  a  grave  defect  in  a  plant  of  so  low  a  stature, 
and  one  from  which  most  pinks,  especially  the  natural 
species,  are  entirely  free.  The  chief  beauty  of  the 
best  pinks  is  their  habit  of  growth.  They  are  beauti- 
ful in  winter  as  well  as  in  summer,  and  they  bear  their 
flowers  as  if  they  were  a  joy  and  not  a  burden  to  them. 
Most  of  them  will  endure  any  amount  of  drought  and 
can  be  propagated  most  easily  by  seed,  cuttings,  or 
division.  All  that  they  need  to  make  them  perfect 
garden  plants  is  a  longer  flowering  period,  a  greater  va- 
riety of  colour,  and  in  some  cases  rather  larger  flowers. 

Now,  different  species  or  varieties  have  all  these  vir- 

81 


82  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

tues.  What  is  needed  is  to  combine  them  all  in  one 
plant;  and,  since  most  species  hybridize  very  readily, 
there  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  this  should  not  be 
done.  Already  there  are  some  new  pinks  appearing 
with  large,  single,  and  bright-coloured  flowers;  and 
there  are  others  with  double  flowers  that  blossom  al- 
most as  long  as  carnations.  What  we  want  is  a  new 
race  of  single  flowering  pinks,  of  compact  habit,  vigorous 
constitution,  large  brilliant  flowers,  and  a  long  period 
of  bloom.  Vigour  of  constitution  is  a  most  important 
point,  and  one  too  often  overlooked  in  the  development 
of  the  carnation.  Unfortunately,  the  pink  which 
flowers  longest  and  has  the  largest  and  most  brilliant 
flowers,  Dianthus  sinensis,  and  its  fine  variety,  D. 
Heddewigii,  is  not  a  true  perennial;  and  varieties 
which  have  a  strain  of  its  blood  in  them  are  apt  to 
be  delicate.  It  has  been  conjectured  that  there  is  a 
strain  of  D.  sinensis  in  the  carnation,  which  may  be 
the  reason  for  its  comparative  delicacy,  and  also  in 
some  of  the  mule  pinks,  which  are  beautiful  plants 
but  need  to  be  constantly  renewed  by  cuttings.  In 
time,  however,  the  better  qualities  of  D.  Heddewigii 
might  be  combined  with  the  virtues  of  the  most  vigor- 
ous natural  species. 

There  are  already,  of  course,  many  beautiful  garden 
pinks;  but  most  of  them  have  double  flowers  and 
bloom  for  only  a  short  season.  The  florists  of  the 
past  took  great  pains  to  produce  pinks  very  precisely 
laced  or  edged.  They  were  dominated  by  the  rules 
and  standards  of  flower-shows;  but,  now  that  the 


PINKS  83 

pink  has  ceased  to  be  a  fashionable  show  flower,  there 
is  some  chance  of  its  more  rational  development. 
The  material  out  of  which  it  can  be  developed  is  very 
varied.  There  is  a  great  number  of  wild  species  of 
pinks,  many  of  them  most  valuable  garden  plants, 
and  most  of  them  quite  easy  to  grow.  It  is  of  these 
that  we  propose  to  speak  in  some  detail,  since  they 
are  less  known  to  the  ordinary  gardener  than  they 
ought  to  be,  and  since  the  florist  makes  less  use  of 
them  than  he  should.  Unfortunately  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  confusion  about  their  names,  due,  no  doubt, 
to  the  extreme  readiness  with  which  they  hybridize. 
It  is  difficult  to  distinguish  species  from  varieties, 
and  the  same  pink  has  often  different  names  in  different 
nurserymen's  catalogues. 

Dianthus  plumarius  is  the  best  known  of  all  the 
natural  species  and  the  parent  of  most  garden  pinks. 
It  is  very  variable  and  hybridizes  readily  with  other 
species.  If  a  number  of  plants  are  raised  from  seed, 
very  probably  not  two  will  be  exactly  alike  in  their 
flowers  or  in  their  habit.  The  type  has  fringed  flowers 
of  a  pink  colour  slightly  tinged  with  mauve.  The 
best  plan  is  to  raise  it  from  seed  and  to  keep  only  the 
best  plants.  Seedlings  are  sometimes  neat  and  com- 
pact in  growth,  sometimes  straggling.  Their  flowers 
vary  in  size,  colour,  and  shape.  The  amateur  who 
will  persevere  in  raising  seed  year  after  year  from  his 
best  specimens  may  in  time  come  to  have  some  very 
fine  plants.  D.  plumarius  will  thrive  anywhere  in 
full  sun  and  well-drained  soil,  and  is  particularly  use- 


84  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

ful  for  covering  dry,  sunny  banks.  It  can  be  raised 
from  seed,  sown  either  when  ripe  or  in  spring,  with 
the  greatest  ease,  and  will  usually  seed  itself  pro- 
fusely. For  this  reason,  and  because  of  its  rapid 
growth,  it  is  not  a  plant  for  the  small  rockery,  but  it 
can  be  grown  just  as  easily  in  the  border  as  the  ordi- 
nary garden  pinks. 

Dianthus  csesius  (the  Cheddar  pink)  is  also  variable 
and  hybridizes  very  readily  with  D.  plumarius  and 
other  pinks.  The  type  is  very  tufted  and  low  grow- 
ing. The  leaves  are  glaucous  green,  the  flowers  of  a 
bright  pink,  and  irregularly  indented.  It  is  a  lime- 
stone plant  and  thrives  best  among  rocks  in  a  rubbly 
soil  or  in  a  wall.  It  is  apt  to  die  in  the  winter  on  the 
level,  but  lives  long  and  often  grows  to  a  considerable 
size  in  chinks  of  a  rough  stone  wall.  It  is  an  excellent 
rock  garden  plant,  as  it  does  not  spread  too  quickly. 
All  it  needs  is  a  high  and  dry  place  in  full  sun.  It 
can  be  raised  very  easily  from  seed;  but  seedlings 
usually  vary  a  good  deal,  and,  if  the  seed  is  bought, 
they  often  bear  little  resemblance  to  the  type.  In- 
deed, the  species  hybridizes  so  readily  that  it  is  not 
likely  to  come  true  from  seed  unless  the  seed  is  saved 
from  plants  isolated  from  other  pinks.  Some  of  the 
hybrids,  however,  are  very  beautiful,  having  the 
close  tufted  habit  of  the  species  and  larger  and  even 
brighter  flowers.  With  this  plant,  too,  it  should  be 
easy  to  get  some  fine  varieties  by  saving  seed  year 
after  year  from  the  best  specimens. 

Dianthus  deltoides,  the  Maiden  Pink,  is  a  pretty 


PINKS  85 

plant  and  a  native  of  England.  It  has  leaves  that  are 
not  glaucous  like  those  of  most  pinks,  but  bright 
green,  and  pink  flowers  with  darker  spots.  There  is  a 
very  pretty  white  variety,  one  with  brighter  flowers, 
and  one  with  glaucous  leaves.  D.  deltoides  is  very 
easily  grown  in  any  light  soil,  and  seeds  itself  pro- 
fusely. The  white  variety  comes  fairly  true  from 
seed.  It  should  be  grown  in  great  masses  in  a  large 
space  to  itself,  where  it  can  seed  freely.  In  a  small 
rock  garden  the  seedlings  encroach  too  much.  The 
plant  commonly  called  Dianthus  fragrans  is  really 
a  variety  of  D.  plumarius  with  white,  very  sweet- 
scented,  flowers.  The  double  variety  has  a  scent  of 
overpowering  sweetness,  and  is  a  very  beautiful  plant. 
The  true  D.  fragrans  is  very  rare.  Dianthus  mons- 
pessulanus  is  a  closely  tufted  pink  with  dark  glaucous 
foliage.  It  has  large  fringed  pink  flowers,  very  fragrant. 
It  is  easily  grown  among  rocks  in  light  soil  with  some 
leaf  mould  in  it,  and  prefers  limestone. 

Dianthus  arenarius  and  D.  petraeus  are  plants 
about  the  names  of  which  there  seems  to  be  some 
uncertainty,  at  least  among  nurserymen.  The  plants 
usually  sold  under  these  names  have  very  narrow 
grassy  leaves,  a  very  tufted  habit,  and  white  fringed 
flowers.  According  to  M.  Correvon  the  species  both 
have  pink  flowers,  but  the  plants  usually  sold  may  be 
merely  white  varieties.  In  any  case  they  are  charm- 
ing, and  will  grow  in  the  driest  and  hottest  places. 
In  fact,  they  are  suitable  for  the  very  top  of  the  rockery, 
where  they  will  spread  into  carpets  as  thick  and  even 


86  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

as  turf.  The  poorer  the  soil  the  better  they  flower. 
In  a  rich  soil  they  are  apt  to  run  all  to  leaf  and  to 
damp  off  in  the  winter. 

D.  noeanus  is  a  new  and  very  pretty  plant,  growing 
in  close  tufts  which  do  not  spread  to  any  great  size. 
It  has  elaborately  fringed  white  flowers,  and  is,  per- 
haps, the  only  pink  with  a  disagreeable  scent.  It 
should  be  raised  from  seed  and  grown  among  rocks 
in  poor  soil. 

Dianthus  alpestris  is  a  pretty  little  pink,  easily 
grown  among  rocks,  with  bright  pink  fringed  flow- 
ers, not  more  than  6  in.  high.  The  true  Dianthus 
suavis  appears  to  be  a  variety  of  D.  plumarius,  but  a 
beautiful  pink  with  very  delicate  white  flowers  is 
sometimes  sold  under  this  name,  and  also  under  the 
name  of  D.  gallicus.  The  writer  does  not  know  its 
true  name,  but  it  appears  to  be  a  species,  as  both  in 
growth  and  in  flower  it  is  very  distinct  from  all  other 
pinks.  The  true  Dianthus  gallicus  has  pink  spotted 
flowers,  and  is  usually  not  perennial  in  our  climate. 

Dianthus  sylvestris  is  a  fine  pink,  which,  in  spite  of 
its  name,  likes  full  sun.  It  does  not  spread  much 
like  other  pinks,  but  grows  in  a  single  close  tuft  of 
thin  dark  green  leaves.  The  flowers  are  bright  pink, 
and  the  stems  are  rather  weak  and  apt  to  lie  about 
on  the  ground.  This  is  the  only  defect  of  the  plant, 
which  is  easily  grown  in  dry,  hot  gardens.  Dianthus 
superbus  has  flowers  unlike  those  of  any  other  pink. 
They  are  pale  flesh  colour,  with  greenish-yellow  spots, 
and  most  elaborately  fringed  and  curled.  The  leaves 


PINKS  87 

are  rather  broader  than  those  of  most  pinks.  D. 
superbus  is  not  a  true  perennial,  but  is  worth  grow- 
ing, as  it  can  be  raised  very  easily  from  seed,  and  will 
thrive  on  the  north  side  of  a  rockery  in  a  dry  place. 
Unlike  most  pinks,  it  seems  to  like  a  certain  amount 
of  shade  and  grows  in  woody  places  in  its  native 
land. 

There  are  several  pinks  with  their  flowers  in  clusters 
like  those  of  the  Sweet  William,  and  some  of  them 
are  well  worth  growing.  Dianthus  atrorubens  and 
D.  cruentus,  both  with  small  flowers  of  a  very  deep 
crimson,  are  among  the  best.  They  will  thrive  in  any 
sunny  place,  and  are  rather  border  than  rock  garden 
plants.  D.  carthusianorum  has  paler  flowers,  and  is 
not  so  pretty,  though  pretty  enough.  D.  giganteus, 
the  tallest  of  pinks,  will  grow  more  than  a  yard  high, 
but  the  flowers  are  small  in  proportion  to  the  height. 
It  is  scarcely  worth  growing  except  as  a  curiosity. 
D.  Knappii  is  a  pretty  clustered  pink  with  pale  yellow 
flowers.  It  should  be  grown  on  the  rockery,  where 
its  culture  is  easy.  All  of  these  are  easily  raised  from 
seed,  which  can  be  obtained  without  difficulty.  D. 
cinnabarinus,  however,  which  has  clustered  flowers 
of  a  curious  cinnabar  red  colour,  is  one  of  the  rarest 
of  all  pinks,  and  at  times  goes  out  of  cultivation  al- 
together. It  conies  from  Greece  and  is  not  very 
perennial  in  England.  This  fact,  since  it  often  fails 
to  ripen  seed,  accounts  partly  for  its  rarity.  Other- 
wise it  is  easily  grown,  and  worth  growing  for  its 
curious  beauty. 


88  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

None  of  the  pinks  which  we  have  mentioned  are  at 
all  difficult  to  grow.  There  are,  however,  one  or  two 
high  Alpine  species  which  require  some  care,  and  one, 
D.  glacialis,  which  is  so  difficult  as  to  be  scarcely 
worth  attempting  in  England. 

The  most  beautiful  of  the  higher  Alpine  species  is, 
perhaps,  D.  neglectus.  It  can  be  distinguished  from 
all  other  pinks  by  the  pale  yellow  colour  of  the  under- 
side of  its  petals,  which  are  otherwise  of  an  extraor- 
dinarily brilliant  pink.  The  leaves  are  grassy  and 
short  and  grow  in  close  tufts;  they  also  are  not  quite 
evergreen,  like  those  of  most  pinks,  but  almost  wither 
up  in  the  winter.  D.  neglectus  is  not  really  difficult 
to  grow.  It  should  be  planted  tight  in  chinks  between 
the  rocks,  in  a  soil  consisting  mainly  of  mortar  rubble, 
with  a  little  leaf -mould  and  sandy  loam.  It  roots 
deeply,  and  when  established  does  not  suffer  from 
drought,  if  rocks  are  all  round  the  roots.  It  can  be 
easily  raised  from  seed,  and  this  is  the  best  way  to 
grow  it,  as  the  plants  become  enervated  if  they  are 
kept  too  long  in  frames.  The  seed  should  be  sown 
when  ripe  or  in  spring  in  pans  of  light,  gritty  soil, 
and  the  seedlings  planted  out  into  their  permanent 
homes  as  soon  as  possible.  D.  neglectus  likes  the 
fullest  sun,  and  is  the  most  brilliant  coloured  of  all 
wild  pinks,  and  one  of  the  most  brilliant  coloured  of 
all  Alpines.  It  appears  to  hybridize  pretty  readily, 
and  one  sometimes  sees  seedling  forms  with  all  the 
beauty  of  the  type,  but  more  vigorous  and  larger  in 
all  respects.  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  a  very 


PINKS  89 

brilliant   race   of   pinks   should   not   be   obtained   by 
crossing  it  with  other  and  stronger  species. 

Dianthus  alpinus  is  a  very  distinct  pink,  perfectly 
prostrate,  with  green  leaves  rather  broad  for  their 
size  and  more  like  those  of  D.  deltoides  than  of  any 
other  pink.  The  flowers,  which  rise  only  about  2  in. 
above  the  ground,  are  bright  pink,  spotted  in  the 
centre,  and  very  large  for  the  plant.  D.  alpinus 
is  more  difficult  to  grow  than  D.  neglectus,  as  it  is 
impatient  of  drought  in  summer  and  also  of  damp  in 
winter.  It  cannot  be  grown  in  a  very  narrow  chink 
of  the  rocks,  as  it  throws  out  runners  and  requires 
room  to  increase  in.  This  makes  it  the  more  difficult 
to  protect  from  drought.  It  should  be  planted  on  flat 
pockets  rather  low  down  in  the  rockery,  with  a  south- 
west or  south-east  aspect  and  surrounded  with  small 
rocks  half  sunk  in  the  soil,  with  a  larger  rock  on  the 
north  side  of  it  for  its  roots  to  run  under.  The  smaller 
rocks  around  it  will  give  it  a  certain  amount  of  shade. 
The  soil  should  be  deep  and  should  consist  of  one- 
third  mortar  rubble,  one-third  leaf  mould,  and  one- 
third  fibrous  loam,  all  well  mixed  up  together.  It 
must  be  watered  in  hot  weather,  and  top-dressed  with 
leaf  mould  when  first  starting  into  growth  in  the 
spring.  With  these  conditions  it  is  not  difficult  to 
grow,  though  it  is  not  a  very  long-lived  plant.  It  can, 
however,  be  very  easily  raised  from  seed,  which  usually 
ripens  in  England,  and  should  be  sown  as  soon  as 
ripe  or  in  early  spring.  It  can  also  be  increased  by 
cuttings.  When  plants  appear  to  be  failing  they 


90  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

will  often  recover  if  moved;  and  this  should  be  done 
in  spring.  There  is  a  pretty  white  variety,  and  the 
type  appears  to  hybridize  readily,  but  no  valuable 
hybrids  have  been  obtained  yet. 

Dianthus  callizonus  is,  perhaps,  only  a  local  variety 
of  D.  alpinus,  but  it  is  a  distinct  and  even  more  beau- 
tiful plant,  with  glaucous  leaves  and  brilliant  pink 
speckled  flowers.  It  should  be  treated  like  D.  alpinus 
and  does  not  seem  to  be  any  more  difficult.  It  is  still 
very  rare.  Dianthus  glacialis  is  too  difficult,  perhaps, 
to  be  worth  growing  in  England.  At  any  rate,  it  is 
scarcely  ever  seen  in  English  gardens.  It  needs  the 
same  culture  as  D.  alpinus,  except  that  it  will  not 
endure  lime,  and  must  be  even  more  carefully  pro- 
tected from  drought  in  the  summer.  The  true  plant 
is  seldom  to  be  obtained  in  England;  and  hybrids  or 
other  species  are  usually  sold  for  it. 

D.  Freynii  is  the  smallest  of  all  pinks,  with  little 
pink  flowers.  It  should  be  grown  like  D.  neglectus, 
and  is  not  more  difficult.  There  is  a  very  beautiful 
minute  mountain  pink  with  large  white  fringed  flowers, 
which  is  sometimes  sold  as  D.  squarrosus.  The  true 
D.  squarrosus,  however,  is  a  much  larger  plant,  of 
no  particular  beauty  or  interest.  The  present  writer 
is  ignorant  of  the  true  name  of  the  white  pink  in  ques- 
tion, and  it  is  seldom  seen  in  English  gardens.  It  has 
very  minute  grassy  leaves,  and  the  flowers  are  borne 
about  2J  in.  above  them.  It  requires  the  same  cul- 
ture as  D.  neglectus,  but  is  easier  to  grow.  There  are 
many  more  species  of  pinks,  but  many  of  them  are 


PINKS  91 

much  alike  and  probably  only  varieties.  The  whole 
genus  requires  to  be  thoroughly  overhauled  by  a  com- 
petent authority. 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  GARDEN 
FLOWERS 

THE  first  article  upon  this  subject  provoked 
some  controversy,  but  it  also  elicited  more  ex- 
pressions of  agreement  than  the  writer  had  expected. 
It  seems  to  be  clear  that  the  taste  in  flowers  is  chang- 
ing; that  a  great  many  gardeners  are  no  longer  con- 
tented merely  with  large  blossoms;  that  we  are 
learning  to  look  at  a  plant  as  a  whole,  and  not  to 
think  of  it  only  as  a  flower-producing  machine.  A 
writer  in  one  paper,  disagreeing  violently  with  the 
article  in  question,  said  that  it  was  worse  than  use- 
less to  set  up  principles  of  taste,  since  they  were  sure 
to  be  wrong  or  else  to  be  misapplied.  It  did  not  ap- 
parently occur  to  him  that  all  selection  or  improve- 
ment of  flowers  must  be  based  upon  some  principle 
of  taste  or  other.  Otherwise  it  would  be  quite  random 
and  objectless.  The  issue  is  not  between  principles 
of  taste  and  no  principles,  but  between  one  principle 
and  another.  Now,  the  development  of  a  great  many 
garden  flowers  has  been  controlled  by  the  principle 
that  a  plant  is  a  flower-producing  machine  and  that 
every  part  of  it  except  the  flower  is  mere  surplusage. 
The  ideal  of  this  development  would  be  reached  in 
a  plant  that  came  up  like  a  mushroom,  leafless,  and 

92 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  GARDEN  FLOWERS    93 

with  a  little  stalk,  and  a  huge  flower  at  the  top  of  it, 
and  which  continued  to  do  this  through  all  the  flower- 
ing months  of  the  year.  This  ideal  has  almost  been 
reached  in  some  double  Begonias  and  in  the  dwarf est 
Snapdragons,  and  if  you  wish  to  have  your  garden 
all  flowers  these  are  the  kinds  of  plants  you  should 
grow.  Now,  there  certainly  are  a  good  many  people 
who  wish  to  have  their  gardens  all  flowers;  and  the 
idea  that  a  garden  plant  should  be  grown  only  for 
its  flowers  is  very  deep-rooted.  The  present  writer 
has  heard  of  a  rich  man  whose  orders  to  his  gardener 
were  that  his  beds  and  borders  should  never  contain 
any  plants  not  in  flower.  A  vast  army  of  plants  in 
pots  was  kept  in  the  background,  and  these  were  bedded 
out  just  as  they  were  coming  into  blossom  and  re- 
moved as  soon  as  their  blossom  was  over. 

Now,  it  is  obvious  that  this  kind  of  gardening  is 
very  expensive,  and,  further,  that  it  prevents  the 
growing  of  many  beautiful  plants  which  cannot  be 
treated  in  this  way,  or  which,  if  treated  in  this  way, 
never  show  their  true  beauty.  But  that  is  not  the 
point  which  we  wish  to  make  for  the  moment.  Very 
expensive  gardening  may  be  beautiful,  and  there  are 
plenty  of  fine  plants  which  can  be  turned  out  of  pots 
when  about  to  bloom  without  spoiling  their  beauty. 
Our  point  is  that  a  garden  all  flowers  is  not  so  beautiful 
as  one  in  which  there  is  plenty  of  greenery  to  contrast 
with  the  flowers.  Most  people  agree  with  this  up  to 
a  point,  but  they  do  not  carry  the  principle  far  enough. 
Even  the  gardener  who  likes  his  beds  to  be  all  flowers 


94  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

likes  them  to  blaze  against  a  foil  of  green  turf.  But 
he  does  not  understand  that  the  contrast  of  greenery 
is  most  beautiful  when  it  is  most  closely  interwoven 
with  the  flowers  themselves,  both  by  means  of  the 
intermixture  of  flowering  plants  with  plants  out  of 
flower,  and  also  by  means  of  the  leafage  of  a  plant 
that  is  in  flower.  For  it  is  only  such  a  closely  inter- 
woven contrast  that  displays  the  full  beauty  of  in- 
dividual flowers  and  also  of  individual  plants.  In  a 
bed  of  Geraniums  or  Begonias,  grown  for  their  blaze 
of  colour,  it  is  the  colour  alone  that  we  see  and  think 
of.  The  individual  plants,  the  individual  flowers, 
are  nothing.  The  beauty  of  the  arrangement  may 
be  considerable  —  it  is  absurd  to  pretend  that  all  bed- 
ding out  is  ugly  —  but  it  is  a  beauty  only  of  masses 
of  strong  colour,  without  form  and,  above  all,  without 
character.  Now  no  beauty  interests  us  for  long  un- 
less it  has  character.  We  cannot  in  pictures  produce 
a  beauty  that  satisfies  by  means  of  mere  abstractions. 
The  purely  decorative  picture,  the  picture  that  con- 
sists merely  of  an  arrangement  of  forms  and  colours, 
as  nearly  abstract  as  the  painter  can  make  them  and 
put  together  to  make  an  agreeable  pattern  —  a  pic- 
ture of  this  kind  pleases  at  the  first  glance  very  likely; 
but  our  interest  in  it  is  quickly  exhausted,  because 
there  is  no  character  in  its  component  parts.  So 
there  is  no  character  in  the  individual  plants  of  a 
flower-bed  that  is  intended  merely  to  produce  a  blaze 
of  colour;  and  in  the  same  way  our  interest  in  such 
a  bed  is  exhausted  after  the  first  glance.  A  great 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  GARDEN  FLOWERS    95 

picture  is  full  of  splendid  harmonies  and  contrasts; 
but  the  objects  harmonized  and  contrasted  are  not 
mere  abstractions.  They  are  people  and  things  which 
the  painter  has  seen,  and  they  are  woven  together 
into  a  pattern,  without  losing  their  own  individuality, 
by  the  controlling  emotion  of  the  artist  who  uses 
them,  not  merely  as  pieces  in  a  decorative  game, 
but  as  a  means  of  expressing  that  emotion.  Now, 
gardening  is,  no  doubt,  a  trivial  art  compared  with 
painting,  but  still  it  is  an  art,  or  may  be  made  one; 
and  the  same  principles  apply  to  it.  The  true  art  of 
gardening  is  based  upon  a  profound  interest  and  de- 
light in  plants,  just  as  the  art  of  the  great  painter  is 
based  upon  a  profound  interest  and  delight  in  the 
things  which  he  represents.  The  true  gardener  is 
concerned  with  the  character  of  his  plants  as  the 
great  painter  is  concerned  with  the  character  of  what 
he  paints;  and  it  is  by  growing  his  plants  so  that 
they  display  their  character  as  freely  and  completely 
as  possible  that  the  gardener  makes  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  interesting  kind  of  garden. 

Now  it  is  obvious  that  this  cannot  be  done  by  a 
gardener  who  regards  a  plant  as  a  mere  flower-pro- 
ducing machine;  for  the  flowers  are  only  part  of  the 
character  of  a  plant,  and  they  may  be  so  developed 
as  to  obscure  the  plant's  natural  character  altogether. 
Flowers  may  be,  and  in  most  gardens  plants  are,  the 
most  important  element  of  beauty;  but  their  beauty 
is  not  independent  of  the  plant,  and  cannot  be  con- 
sidered apart  from  it  until  they  are  picked.  The  gar- 


96  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

dener  who  grows  his  plants  only  for  their  flowers 
thinks  always  of  the  flowers  as  if  they  were  picked, 
and  of  his  beds  and  borders  as  huge  nosegays;  and 
the  kind  of  gardening  which  removes  a  plant  as  soon 
as  it  goes  out  of  bloom  is  more  like  the  arranging  of 
flowers  for  the  dinner  table  than  like  true  gardening. 
It  is  a  purely  decorative  art  without  the  deep  and 
satisfying  beauty  of  character.  This  kind  of  beauty 
is  what  delights  us  so  much  in  nature  and  what  often 
seems  to  be  utterly  beyond  the  gardener's  attainment. 
Wild  plants,  we  should  remember,  do  not  grow  for 
their  flowers  alone.  They  have  to  fight  for  their  lives, 
and  every  part  of  the  plant  bears  a  part  in  the  struggle. 
We  are  not  suggesting  that  plants  in  a  garden  ought 
to  fight  for  their  lives.  It  is  the  gardener's  first  duty 
to  eliminate  the  struggle  for  existence;  but  he  must 
never  forget  that  the  character  of  plants  has  been 
produced  by  that  struggle,  and  that  their  beauty  is 
always  dependent  upon  their  character.  He  can  often 
improve  upon  that  beauty,  because  he  has  eliminated 
the  struggle  for  existence.  He  can  often,  to  begin  with, 
grow  his  plants  much  better  than  nature  grows  them. 
He  can  in  many  cases  enlarge  their  flowers  with  ad- 
vantage, and  brighten  their  colour.  But  while  he 
does  this  he  should  always  think  of  every  plant  as  a 
whole,  of  its  natural  character,  and  of  the  right  pro- 
portion between  its  leaves  and  its  flowers. 

At  once,  of  course,  there  arises  the  question  how 
are  we  to  decide  upon  the  right  proportion  between 
leaves  and  flowers;  and  here  comes  in  the  question 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  GARDEN  FLOWERS    97 

of  principles  of  taste.  If  we  are  to  grow  plants  for 
their  flowers  alone,  the  flowers  should  be  as  large  as 
we  can  make  them  and  the  leaves  as  small.  If  the 
leaves  are  not  to  be  seen  for  the  flowers  so  much  the 
better.  But  if  we  are  to  consider  the  natural  char- 
acter of  each  individual  plant,  then  we  should  take  care 
that  the  flowers  are  not  so  large  as  to  obscure  that  nat- 
ural character,  and  in  particular  to  interfere  with  the 
plant's  natural  habit  of  growth.  If  a  wild  plant  bears 
its  flowers  on  strong  upright  stalks,  we  should  not  make 
these  flowers  so  heavy  that  the  stalks  cannot  support 
them  without  being  staked.  If  a  wild  plant  bears 
large  flowers  and  has  a  compact  habit  of  growth,  we 
should  not  dwarf  it  till  it  looks  like  a  hunchback.  If 
the  flowers  naturally  have  great  beauty  of  form,  we 
should  not  double  them  so  as  to  destroy  that  beauty 
on  the  chance  of  obtaining  another  beauty  of  colour. 
To  object  to  all  double  flowers  would  be  pedantic. 
There  are  many  plants  that  depend  for  their  flowering 
beauty  upon  a  mass  of  blossom,  and  it  may  often  be 
increased  and  prolonged  by  doubling  as  in  the  case 
of  the  double  Arabis,  the  double  Genista  tinctoria, 
and  the  double  Silene  maritima.  In  other  cases  the 
beauty  of  the  flower  is  in  colour  rather  than  in  form; 
and  the  colour  may  often  be  intensified  by  doubling 
as  with  the  Dahlia,  the  Carnation,  many  Roses,  and 
most  Chrysanthemums.  There  are  certain  forms  of 
flowers  that  are  obviously  unsuited  to  doubling;  others 
that  can  often  be  improved  by  it.  Thus  bell-shaped 
flowers,  such  as  those  of  most  Campanulas,  or  trumpet- 


98  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

shaped  flowers,  such  as  those  of  most  Lilies,  are  pretty 
sure  to  be  spoilt  by  doubling  —  and,  indeed,  doubling, 
in  the  case  of  these,  seems  to  be  against  nature.  There 
is  no  reason  in  the  nature  of  things  why  the  bell  of 
Campanula  persicifolia  should  be  stuffed  up  with 
inner  layers  of  petals.  On  the  other  hand,  the  outer 
ring  of  florets  of  most  composite  flowers  is  often  in- 
creased when  they  grow  wild  in  favourable  conditions, 
and  such  an  increase  does  no  violence  to  the  whole 
structure  of  the  plant.  So  a  good  many  composite 
flowers  have  been  doubled  without  spoiling  their 
beauty.  But,  even  in  the  case  of  composite  flowers, 
the  doubling  has  been  carried  too  far.  Thus  double 
Daisies  have  a  pleasant,  precise,  old-fashioned  kind 
of  beauty;  we  have  all  loved  them  in  our  childhood 
and,  therefore,  we  continue  to  love  them  still.  But 
in  a  batch  of  seedling  Daisies,  all  intended  to  be  double, 
there  will  often  occur  single  forms  more  beautiful  than 
any  double  ones.  These  are  usually  plucked  up  and 
thrown  away,  since  the  gardener  regards  the  single 
Daisy  as  a  weed  and  the  double  alone  as  a  garden 
flower.  But  there  is  no  reason  whatever  why  the 
single  Daisy  should  not  be  developed  into  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  spring  flowers,  with  large  white 
or  pink  or  crimson  florets  and  with  a  shining  golden 
centre.  Even  then  it  would  not  probably  be  more 
beautiful  than  the  wild  Daisy,  but  it  would  be  more 
conspicuous. 

Thus  in  the  case  of  doubling  there  are  principles 
that  could  be  applied  pretty   easily   in   most  cases. 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  GARDEN  FLOWERS    99 

In  some,  of  course,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  whether 
a  plant  would  be  the  better  or  the  worse  for  being 
doubled.  Wherever  there  is  a  doubt  it  would  be  wise 
not  to  double  it.  There  are  so  many  other  ways  in 
which  plants  can  be  developed  with  a  certainty  of 
improvement.  They  can  usually  be  made  more  vigor- 
ous; their  colour  can  often  be  made  brighter  and 
purer.  In  some  cases  their  habit  is  the  better  for  being 
more  compact.  Thus  some  of  the  hybrid  Larkspurs 
are  finer  plants  in  all  respects  than  any  of  the  species. 
The  new  garden  varieties  of  Phlox  decussata  are  in- 
finitely superior  in  colour  to  any  of  the  older  ones; 
some  of  the  hybrid  Pentstemons  have  a  beauty  and 
variety  of  colour  and  a  vigour  of  growth  far  beyond 
any  to  be  found  in  the  species  from  which  they  have 
been  produced;  and  the  Tufted  Pansies  or  Violas  as 
they  are  commonly  called,  have  both  combined  and 
improved  out  of  all  knowledge  all  the  good  qualities  of 
Viola  tricolor  and  Viola  cornuta,  which  were  their  far 
distant  wild  ancestors.  But  in  all  these  cases  there  has 
been  no  attempt  to  pervert  or  to  conceal  the  natural 
character  of  the  plants.  The  flowers  may  have  been 
enlarged,  but  not  so  that  their  stalks  cannot  support 
them.  The  habit  may  have  been  made  more  compact, 
but  it  has  not,  except,  perhaps,  in  a  few  Phloxes,  been 
dwarfed  into  deformity. 

The  eye  may  be  trained  in  its  appreciation  of  flowers, 
as  of  most  other  beautiful  things;  but  it  must  be 
trained  on  a  principle;  and  the  only  sure  principle  is 
that  every  plant  be  always  considered  as  a  whole,  and 


100  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

that  its  natural  character  be  always  borne  in  mind. 
It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  monstrous  flowers  have 
usually  been  produced  in  those  plants  which  are 
treated  in  gardens  in  the  least  natural  way  —  that  is 
to  say,  in  bedding  plants,  especially  Begonias.  On  the 
other  hand,  hi  the  case  of  plants  which  are  usually 
grown  naturally  development  has  in  most  cases  meant 
improvement.  The  florists  have  produced  more  new 
varieties  of  the  Daffodil  of  late  years  than  of  any  other 
flower.  But  their  changes  have  been  nearly  all  im- 
provements, and  the  Daffodil  is  a  plant  that  nearly 
every  one  grows  in  a  natural  way,  except  when  it  is 
forced  or  in  the  case  of  very  expensive  new  varieties. 
Thus  the  improvers  of  Daffodils  usually  have  the 
whole  plant  hi  their  minds,  whereas  the  improvers  of 
Begonias  think  only  of  their  flowers.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  practice  of  rock  gardening  has  im- 
proved the  general  taste  in  flowers,  for  tricks  cannot 
be  played  upon  Alpine  plants;  they  have  to  be  grown 
as  far  as  possible  in  their  natural  conditions,  and  their 
beauty  is  peculiarly  the  beauty  of  character,  a  beauty 
produced  by  the  strange  conditions  in  which  they 
maintain  their  struggle  for  life.  The  gardener  who 
once  learns  to  love  this  beauty  gets  a  keener  apprecia- 
tion of  the  character  of  all  other  plants.  He  likes  to 
see  them  growing  as  if  they  were  self-sown  seedlings, 
and  he  is  impatient  of  any  florist's  development  or  of 
any  system  of  culture  which  deprives  them  of  char- 
acter. Character,  in  plants  as  in  men,  is  produced 
by  struggle  and  by  adaptation.  In  the  garden  both 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  GARDEN ^FLOWEftS    101 

the  struggle  and  the  need  for  adaptation  are  much 
lessened,  the  result  of  which  is  that  astonishing  changes 
can  be  worked  upon  many  plants  since  they  are  re- 
lieved from  the  continuous  even  pressure  of  necessity. 
But  if  these  plants  are  transformed  so  that  they  lose 
the  character  stamped  upon  them  by  their  adaptation 
to  natural  circumstances,  then  they  lose  also  the  most 
significant  part  of  their  beauty,  and  look  like  manu- 
factured rather  than  living  things.  There  are  some 
people,  of  course,  who  like  a  flower  to  look  manufac- 
tured, and  in  its  artificiality  see  a  proof  of  their  own 
power  over  nature.  This  desire  to  make  a  thing  look 
different  from  what  it  is,  just  for  the  sake  of  showing 
the  maker's  skill,  is  the  cause  of  much  bad  art  of  all 
kinds.  It  is  the  cause  of  nearly  all  bad  art  in  the 
garden. 


CHEAP  GARDENING 

/CHEAPNESS  is  a  relative  term  in  everything,  and 
^.sA  particularly  in  gardening,  since  a  Daffodil  bulb 
may  cost  anything  from  a  farthing  to  fifty  guineas. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  gardening  can  be  a  very  ex- 
pensive amusement,  now  that  it  has  become  fashion- 
able and  millionaires  have  their  rock  gardens  as  well 
as  their  motor-cars.  Luckily,  however,  the  expensive 
gardens  are  not  always  the  best.  Indeed,  very  often 
they  are  the  worst.  In  gardening  it  is  not  the  plant 
that  counts  so  much  as  the  gardener;  and  very  often 
the  plant  that  costs  a  guinea  is  no  more  beautiful  than 
the  plant  that  costs  nothing.  Gardening  may  be 
cheaper  as  well  as  more  expensive  than  it  has  ever 
been,  provided  the  gardener  is  ready  to  take  a  little 
trouble  and  to  exercise  a  little  self-denial. 

Mr.  W.  P.  Wright  has  lately  published  a  book 
("Beautiful  Gardens")  in  which  he  makes  it  his  ob- 
ject to  show  how  a  beautiful  garden  may  be  cheaply 
made  and  maintained,  and  in  his  preface  he  deplores 
the  expensiveness  of  modern  gardening.  But,  after 
all,  it  does  not  matter  very  much  to  the  true  gardener. 
He  can  console  himself  with  the  thought  that  all  the 
costly  novelties,  if  they  are  good  for  anything,  will 
probably  be  cheap  some  day;  and  if  it  were  not  that 
there  are  people  ready  to  give  large  sums  for  them, 

102 


CHEAP  GARDENING  103 

these  novelties  would  never,  perhaps,  be  produced. 
Mr.  Wright  complains,  too,  that  the  writers  of  most 
gardening  books  assume  the  costliness  of  gardening. 
He  will  not  assume  it;  and  yet  he  mentions  a  good  many 
costly  plants  in  his  book,  or  at  least  plants  that  will 
seem  costly  to  the  man  who  really  wishes  to  garden 
cheaply  on  a  fairly  large  scale.  Mr.  Wright  may  urge 
that  he  only  mentions  such  plants  in  case  his  readers 
may  wish  for  a  few  luxuries.  But  the  gardener  who 
wants  an  abundance  of  flowers,  and  wants  them  cheap, 
will  not  be  able  to  afford  even  a  few  luxuries.  Those 
who  have  only  a  slip  of  garden  with  one  small  border 
and  one  bit  of  rockwork  on  it  may  afford,  now  and 
again,  to  pay  half-a-crown  for  a  Lily  or  Daffodil  bulb. 
But  those  who  have  two  or  three  acres  of  garden  and 
wish  to  make  them  all  flowery  at  a  small  cost  cannot 
do  this  even  once  in  a  way.  Their  first  problem  will 
be  to  get  cheap  plants.  Their  next  to  economize  in 
labour  and  manure.  There  are  plants  which  need  a 
great  deal  of  manure  in  most  soils,  and  others  which 
need  careful  watering  in  hot  weather,  even  though 
they  may  in  some  cases  be  cheap  to  buy.  There  are 
bulbs  which  need  to  be  lifted  and  dried  off,  and  others 
which,  however  well  treated,  soon  die  out  in  most 
English  gardens.  There  are  shrubs,  too,  which  must 
be  protected  in  hard  winters.  There  are  carnations 
that  must  be  constantly  renewed  by  means  of  layers. 
There  are  bedding  plants  that  need  a  greenhouse  in 
the  winter,  and  exact  all  the  labour  of  shifting  them 
into  the  greenhouse  and  out  of  it  again.  All  of  these 


104  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

will  have  to  be  avoided,  or  very  sparingly  used,  by 
the  man  who  wishes  to  garden  cheaply  and  who  is 
not  prepared  to  spend  a  great  deal  of  his  own  time 
upon  his  garden.  For  him  the  labour  problem  will 
be  more  difficult,  perhaps,  than  even  the  problem  of 
stocking  his  garden;  and  yet  both  may  be  solved  by 
means  of  a  little  knowledge  and  discretion. 

In  the  first  place,  the  man  who  wishes  to  have  a 
cheap  garden  must  take  the  line  of  least  resistance. 
He  must  find  out  what  plants  grow  well  in  his  garden 
naturally;  and  he  must  confine  himself  mainly  to 
these.  If  he  lives  on  a  light,  sandy  soil,  he  must  not 
grow  plants  that  need  much  moisture  and  nourish- 
ment, for  it  will  cost  him  money  to  supply  them. 
If  he  lives  on  a  stiff  clay,  he  must  avoid  plants  that 
will  only  flourish  in  clay  if  it  is  lightened  and  made 
porous  with  grit  and  leaf-mould.  Directly  he  tries 
to  fight  with  nature  he  will  find  that  his  bill  for  labour 
and  for  manure  goes  up.  He  must  make  it  his  object 
to  humour  nature;  and,  if  he  is  a  true  gardener,  he 
will  find  a  peculiar  pleasure  and  interest  in  doing 
that.  The  rich  man  or  the  man  who  has  plenty  of 
leisure  may  delight  in  overcoming  nature;  yet  just  as 
much  skill  may  be  exercised  by  the  gardener  who  is 
busy  and  not  rich  in  obeying  her.  But  he  must  exer- 
cise some  self-denial;  and  in  particular  he  must  cure 
himself  of  that  itch  for  novelties  which  attacks  all 
keen  gardeners  at  some  time  in  their  career,  and  from 
which  many  never  recover.  Mr.  Wright  is  inclined 
to  think  that  the  love  of  novelties  is  a  vulgar  passion; 


CHEAP  GARDENING  105 

that  the  rich  man  buys  a  costly  new  plant  only  to 
show  that  he  can  afford  it.  But  good  gardeners  are 
not  apt  to  be  vulgarians,  and  nearly  all  of  them  love 
novelties  and,  if  they  can,  pursue  them  in  spite  of  a 
hundred  disappointments.  And  yet  this  passion  can 
be  tamed  by  philosophy,  as  the  present  writer  has 
discovered;  and  other  and,  perhaps,  manlier  passions 
can  be  nourished  to  take  its  place.  Philosophy,  based 
upon  experience,  admonishes  the  gardener  that  some 
novelties  are  not  novelties  at  all  and  that  others 
have  nothing  but  their  newness  and  costliness  to 
recommend  them.  It  also  comforts  him  with  the 
thought  that,  as  we  have  said,  most  novelties,  if  they 
are  worth  having,  will  soon  grow  cheap.  There  are, 
it  is  true,  some  bulbs  which  have  to  be  collected 
in  their  native  homes  every  year,  and  which,  being 
rare  even  then,  never  become  very  cheap.  But  there 
is  always  a  chance  that  some  year  the  collector  will 
find  a  multitude  of  them,  and  that  they  will  suddenly 
drop  in  price.  Very  likely  they  will  soon  rise  again; 
but  it  is  chances  of  this  kind  that  make  catalogues 
more  exciting  to  read  than  any  novel,  and  catalogues 
cost  nothing.  Anyhow  the  pursuit  of  novelties  is 
sure  to  cause  as  much  disappointment  as  delight; 
for  the  writers  of  catalogues  have  sanguine  imagina- 
tions that  take  fire  at  a  hint.  They  are  ready  to  be- 
lieve all  that  the  collectors  tell  them;  and  they  do 
not  spoil  a  tale  in  repeating  it.  Thus  many  novelties 
that  flower  so  amazingly  in  the  catalogues  make  but 
a  poor  show  in  the  garden,  and  after  one  year's  trial 


106  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

are  described  as  "suitable  only  for  botanical  collec- 
tions"; which  means  that  the  ordinary  gardener 
throws  them  on  the  rubbish  heap  if  he  cannot  give 
them  away  to  a  friend. 

It  is  by  considerations  of  this  kind  that  the  hunger 
for  novelties  may  be  tamed.  But  even  the  poor  gar- 
dener is  not  cut  off  from  them  altogether,  for  he  can 
often  buy  their  seeds  cheaply  enough;  and  then,  if 
they  turn  out  to  be  rubbish,  he  can  throw  them  away 
with  the  consolation  that  he  has  spent  little  upon 
them  except  the  labour  of  raising  them.  Seeds,  in- 
deed, are  the  mainstay  of  the  poor  gardener.  If  he 
will  only  raise  his  plants  from  seed,  he  can  soon  stock 
a  large  garden  with  beautiful  flowers  at  the  cost  of  a 
few  shillings;  and  if  he  has  a  piece  of  spare  ground 
which  he  can  use  for  the  trial  of  seedlings,  in  a  few 
years  by  judicious  selection  he  will  be  able  to  raise  for 
himself  specimens  of  many  plants  as  fine  as  the  finest 
florists'  varieties,  and  even  finer,  for  he  will  be  able 
to  consult  his  own  taste  in  the  development  of  them. 
It  is  strange,  indeed,  how  few  people  raise  perennial 
plants  from  seed;  and  the  only  explanation  can  be 
that  it  never  occurs  to  them  to  do  so.  They  are  ready 
to  spend  time  and  trouble  in  raising  annuals  and 
biennials,  because  it  is  the  custom;  but  they  are  in 
the  habit  of  buying  perennial  plants,  and  they  con- 
tinue to  do  so,  although  many  of  them  can  be  raised 
from  seed  just  as  easily  as  any  biennial,  and  will  flower 
just  as  soon  after  the  seeds  are  sown.  One  could  make 
a  long  list  of  perennial  plants  that  every  one  ought 


CHEAP  GARDENING  107 

to  grow  from  seed.  But  a  few  of  them  will  suffice  for 
examples.  Larkspurs,  Columbines,  Hollyhocks,  Pan- 
sies,  Campanula  persicifolia,  C.  carpatica,  C.  lacti- 
flora,  nearly  all  the  perennial  Flaxes,  Catananche, 
Lychnis  Haageana,  Oenothera  macrocarpa,  Anchusa 
italica,  Coreopsis  lanceolata,  Geranium  grandiflorum 
and  other  Cranesbills,  Gypsophila  paniculata,  Pent- 
stemons  and  Scabiosa  Caucasica.  Many  of  these,  if 
sown  as  soon  as  the  seed  is  ripe,  will  flower  the  next 
year  like  biennials.  All  or  nearly  all  will  flower  the 
next  year,  if  sown  in  spring;  and  all  can  be  raised 
from  seed  without  any  difficulty.  But  even  those 
gardeners  who  do  raise  perennials  from  seed  often  take 
more  trouble  than  they  need,  and  with  worse  results 
than  a  simpler  method  would  produce.  It  is  common, 
for  instance,  for  Hollyhocks  to  be  raised  from  seed 
in  frames  and  to  be  moved  at  least  twice  before  they 
find  their  permanent  quarters.  The  finest  plants  of 
Hollyhocks  are  those  which  have  never  been  dis- 
turbed since  the  seed  was  sown  in  the  ground.  The 
best  and  easiest  way  of  growing  them,  therefore,  is 
to  sow  two  or  three  seeds  where  the  plant  is  wanted  to 
grow,  and  when  they  are  well  up  to  pull  up  all  but  one 
of  them.  It  is  not  easy  to  treat  Snapdragons  thus, 
because  their  seed  is  much  smaller  than  that  of  Holly- 
hocks. But  there  is  no  need  to  raise  them  in  boxes 
or  frames.  The  best  plan  is  to  sow  them  out  of  doors 
towards  the  end  of  April.  They  will  come  up  in  hun- 
dreds, and  can  be  shifted  to  their  permanent  quarters 
any  time  after  a  good  downpour  of  rain.  Pentstemons, 


108  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

again,  may  be  sown  in  boxes  out  of  doors  in  May. 
They  can  be  pricked  out  as  soon  as  they  are  large 
enough  into  a  reserve  bed,  and  planted  into  their 
permanent  quarters  the  next  spring.  Young  plants 
that  have  not  flowered  will  not  usually  suffer  even 
from  hard  winters  in  fairly  light  soils,  and,  in  any 
case,  it  is  not  difficult  to  give  them  a  little  protection. 
Of  course,  it  takes  more  time  to  raise  plants  in  this 
way  than  to  start  them  in  heat  in  early  spring.  Pent- 
stemons,  for  instance,  will  flower  the  same  year  if 
raised  in  heat,  and  so  will  Hollyhocks  and  Snapdragons. 
But  the  open-air  method  produces  healthier  plants, 
and  costs  nothing  except  the  price  of  the  seeds.  All 
the  perennials  mentioned  above  can  be  raised  from 
seed  sown  in  the  open  border;  but  the  safest  plan  with 
most  of  them,  especially  where  the  soil  is  heavy,  is  to 
sow  the  seed  in  boxes  and  to  place  the  boxes  in  a  cold 
frame  until  the  seedlings  are  strong  enough  to  resist 
all  caprices  of  the  weather.  If  this  is  done  it  is  best 
to  sow  the  seed  in  April,  so  that  the  plants  may  be 
a  good  size  before  the  hot  weather  comes.  They 
should  be  moved  into  the  open  air,  however,  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  then  put  into  their  permanent  quar- 
ters in  the  autumn,  where  they  will  flower  the  next 
year.  When  one  considers  that  a  single  plant  of 
Oenothera  macrocarpa  costs  sixpence,  whereas  fifty 
plants  may  be  raised  from  a  penny  packet  of  seed  so 
as  to  flower  the  year  after  sowing,  the  advantages  of 
raising  plants  from  seed  are  obvious. 

There  are  some  plants,  of  course,  that  do  not  come 


CHEAP  GARDENING  109 

true  from  seed,  so  that  if  the  gardener  wants  a  par- 
ticular variety  he  must  buy  a  plant  and  propagate 
from  it  by  other  means  to  increase  his  stock.  But 
this  is  usually  the  case  only  with  plants  that  have 
been  developed  by  the  florists,  such  as  Larkspurs, 
Carnations,  and  garden  Pinks,  and  Violas  or  Tufted 
Pansies;  and  this  variableness  adds  a  new  interest 
to  the  raising  of  plants  from  seed,  if  the  gardener  has 
some  spare  ground  which  he  can  use  for  trial  beds  for 
his  seedlings.  If  he  does  this  and  selects  his  seed 
judiciously  year  by  year,  he  will  probably  obtain  some 
very  fine  varieties  of  any  plants  to  which  he  may  give 
particular  attention.  The  trouble  of  an  annual  sowing 
of  Larkspurs  or  Columbines  or  Violas  will  be  very 
small,  especially  if  the  seed  is  sown  in  the  open  ground 
when  ripe,  and  the  expense  will  be  nil.  The  gardener 
who  saves  his  own  seed  will  probably  have  so  much 
of  it  that  he  will  be  able  to  afford  the  risk  of  a  sowing 
in  the  open  border  if  his  soil  is  not  too  heavy;  and  if 
he  sows  there,  he  will  be  able  to  leave  the  plants  alone 
until  they  flower. 

There  are  some  plants  that  can  be  so  easily  in- 
creased by  other  means  that  it  is  scarcely  worth  while 
to  sow  seed  of  them  when  once  a  few  have  been  ob- 
tained; and  there  are  also  plants,  as,  for  instance, 
most  bulbs,  which,  if  raised  from  seed,  take  years 
before  they  flower.  But  all  means  of  propagation, 
even  in  the  case  of  plants  most  easily  increased,  are 
strangely  neglected  by  many  gardeners.  Nothing  is 
easier,  for  instance,  than  to  get  a  large  stock  from  a 


110  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

few  plants  of  Tufted  Pansies  by  simply  taking  off 
little  rooted  pieces  and  planting  them  in  a  cool  place 
in  light  soil,  keeping  them  well  watered  until  they  are 
established.  If  this  is  done  as  early  as  possible,  and 
when  the  ground  is  thoroughly  wet  with  rain,  the 
offsets  will  soon  make  good  roots  and  be  strong  plants 
ready  to  plant  out  in  the  autumn.  This  method  may 
be  employed  with  most  plants  that  increase  by  means 
of  rooted  tufts  or  offsets,  and  it  is  often  better  than 
division,  since  it  leaves  the  parent  plant  undisturbed. 
The  main  point  for  a  gardener  who  cannot  give  much 
time  to  watering  is  to  choose  his  opportunity  when  the 
ground  is  thoroughly  soaked,  and  to  plant  his  offsets 
where  they  are  not  liable  to  be  shrivelled  up  by  too 
hot  a  sun.  The  time  for  taking  such  offsets  must 
vary,  of  course,  with  the  habit  of  growth  and  the 
flowering  season  of  different  plants.  Thus,  if  Tufted 
Pansies  are  cut  back  after  their  first  flush  of  bloom  they 
will  throw  up  a  number  of  fresh  shoots  which  can  be 
readily  detached.  Michaelmas  Daisies,  on  the  other 
hand,  since  they  flower  in  autumn,  and  since  most  of 
them  throw  out  rooted  tufts  of  the  greatest  vigour  in 
all  directions,  can  be  simply  pulled  to  pieces  and  re- 
planted in  spring.  If  this  is  done  every  tuft  will  be 
a  strong  flowering  plant  by  the  autumn.  In  every 
case  the  gardener  should  observe  the  habits  of  the 
plant  he  wishes  to  increase,  and  should  treat  it  ac- 
cording to  these  habits. 

Bulbs,  as  we  have  said,  usually  take  a  long  time 
to  flower  from  seed,  often  about  six  years,  but  many 


CHEAP  GARDENING  111 

of  them  Increase  rapidly  by  means  of  offsets;  and  this 
means  of  increase  also  is  often  neglected,  so  that  the 
bulbs  become  crowded  and  deteriorate.  Bulbs  that 
are  to  be  increased  in  this  way  should  be  dug  up  when 
they  die  down,  and  the  offsets  separated  from  them. 
The  main  bulbs  and  the  offsets  may  then  be  either 
dried  off  until  the  autumn  or  replanted  at  once.  Some 
bulbs  —  as,  for  instance,  many  kinds  of  Tulips  —  are 
the  better  for  being  dried  off  every  year;  others, 
such  as  English  and  Spanish  Irises  and  many  Nar- 
cissi, like  to  be  dried  off  occasionally.  English  gar- 
deners, even  those  who  do  not  care  to  spend  much 
on  their  gardens,  are  apt  to  be  very  wasteful  with 
bulbs,  especially  with  Tulips  used  for  spring  bedding. 
There  is  a  common  idea  that  they  will  not  last  in  Eng- 
lish gardens.  But  if  they  are  lifted  when  they  die 
down  and  then  dried  off,  they  will  not  only  last  well, 
especially  in  light  soils,  but  will  often  increase  rapidly. 
The  gardener  who  does  not  wish  to  spend  much  money 
on  his  bulbs  can  yet  have  a  fine  show  of  them,  at  least 
if  his  soil  is  fairly  light,  provided  he  is  prepared  to 
take  a  little  care  of  them  and  to  buy  very  cheap  kinds; 
and  luckily  there  is  an  abundance  of  cheap  bulbs  often 
as  beautiful  as  the  dearest.  You  can  give  ten  shillings 
for  a  single  Tulip  bulb,  but  no  Tulips  are  more  beau- 
tiful than  Picotee,  which  costs  six  shillings  a  hundred, 
or  than  Cottage  Maid,  which  costs  about  four.  You 
can  give  fifty  guineas  sometimes  for  a  single  Daffodil 
bulb;  but  Barri  conspicuus,  or  Princeps,  or  John 
Bain,  or  the  Tenby  Daffodil  cost  about  five  shillings 


STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

a  hundred,  and  they  ought  to  be  good  enough  for  most 
people;  while  you  can  get  a  thousand  of  the  old  Pheas- 
ant-eye for  fifteen  shillings.  You  can  get  a  thousand 
Spanish  Irises  or  Crocuses  for  even  less,  and  Squills 
of  many  kinds,  Chionodoxas,  Fritillaries,  Allium, 
Dogtooth  Violets,  Galtonia,  many  kinds  of  Gladioli, 
Snowflakes,  and  of  course  Snowdrops,  Muscari,  and 
many  less-known  bulbs  can  be  bought  very  cheap. 
There  remain  Lilies,  and  most  of  them  are  not  cheap 
or  easy  to  grow.  The  poor  gardener  must  do  without 
many  kinds  of  Lilies;  but  he  can  grow  the  Madonna 
Lily,  the  Orange  Lily  (L.  croceum),  L.  Pyrenaicum, 
yellow  and  red,  L.  Davuricum,  L.  elegans,  the  Marta- 
gon,  the  Tiger  Lily,  and,  if  he  has  a  moist  place  in  his 
garden,  L.  pardalinum,  L.  superbum,  and  L.  Canadense. 
He  can  also  get  L.  auratum,  L.  speciosum,  and  L. 
longiflorum  quite  cheap  at  sales;  but  he  will  probably 
have  to  renew  them  often,  and  this  means  labour  as 
well  as  money. 

We  have  said  nothing  about  Roses  or  shrubs  in 
general.  Many  can  be  bought  very  cheap;  but  if 
they  are  to  prosper,  the  ground  must  be  deeply  dug 
and  manured  beforehand.  This  costs  money,  of  course; 
but  a  little  preliminary  outlay  in  deep  digging  and 
manuring,  though  many  people  are  apt  to  grudge  it, 
will  always  save  money  in  the  end.  Have  your  bor- 
ders thoroughly  well  prepared  before  you  put  a  plant 
in  them,  and  you  will  have  to  spend  less  afterwards 
on  plants  and  on  labour. 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  GARDENING 

GARDENING  to  the  beginner  seems  to  be  all 
an  arbitrary  mystery.  Some  plants  want  this, 
he  is  told,  and  some  that;  and  he  can  see  no  more 
reason  for  the  diversity  of  their  wants  than  for  the 
diversity  of  their  colours.  He  regards  the  expert 
gardener  as  a  kind  of  magician,  as  one  who  can  make 
all  plants  thrive  by  the  very  way  in  which  he  handles 
them,  and  who  knows  by  instinct  what  they  want. 
Now,  it  is  quite  true  that  the  best  gardeners  do  seem 
to  have  a  way  of  their  own  with  plants,  and  that  they 
will  often  succeed  with  a  plant  they  know  nothing 
about  where  an  inferior  gardener,  less  ignorant,  would 
fail.  But  they  are  not  born  with  this  gift.  They  are 
only  born  with  the  qualities  and  interests  that  en- 
able them  to  acquire  it.  The  best  gardeners  are  those 
who  love  plants  and  who,  therefore,  are  for  ever  look- 
ing at  them;  who  never  pass  a  cottage  garden  with- 
out peering  into  it,  who  are  always  learning  some- 
thing without  effort  or  design  in  woods  and  meadows, 
on  moors  and  mountain  sides.  In  this  they  are  like 
the  born  painter  or  like  the  poet  in  "How  it  Strikes 
a  Contemporary,"  who  watched  men  for  the  love  of 
watching  them.  Without  this  kind  of  love  there  can 
be  no  profound  knowledge  of  anything.  Taking  notes 
with  an  object  is  a  useful  practice,  but  it  is  not  the 

113 


114  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

best  kind  of  observation,  any  more  than  cramming 
for  an  examination  is  the  best  kind  of  learning.  One 
forgets  the  notes  as  soon  as  one  has  used  them;  but 
the  knowledge  got  by  loving  observation  stays  in  the 
mind  and  makes  pictures  there.  It  is  because  chil- 
dren observe  disinterestedly  that  they  have  such 
long  memories;  and  so  disinterested  observation  is 
the  secret  of  the  gardener's,  no  less  than  of  the  poet's 
or  painter's,  magic. 

But  there  is  reason  and  method  in  the  magic  of  all 
arts;  and  the  great  gardener's  love  of  plants  only 
makes  him  a  great  gardener  because  he  turns  it  into 
science.  The  passion  of  observation  is  what  con- 
nects all  excellent  works  of  science  and  art.  It  makes 
the  great  artist  something  of  a  man  of  science,  and 
the  great  man  of  science  something  of  an  artist;  and 
gardening,  in  its  humble  way,  is  both  an  art  and  a 
science,  and  can  only  be  practised  well  by  the  man 
who  will  learn  it  as  an  art  and  a  science.  He  must 
not  only  be  always  observing,  but  also  always  experi- 
menting; and  it  is  experiment  alone  that  can  make 
his  observation  profitable  just  as  it  is  only  observation 
that  can  teach  him  how  to  experiment.  And  the 
more  he  does  of  both  the  more  he  will  be  able  to  use 
his  common  sense  in  gardening  and  to  see  the  reason 
and  the  system  of  things.  The  great  defect  of  most 
professional  gardeners  is  that,  however  well  they 
have  been  taught  a  right  routine,  they  do  not  know 
the  reason  of  it,  and  therefore  cannot  apply  it  to 
things  outside  their  experience.  They  have  learnt 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  GARDENING     115 

what  they  know  as  arbitrary  and  isolated  facts,  just 
as  children  learn  a  number  of  dates  from  bad  teachers 
of  history;  and  these  facts  do  not  help  them  to  learn 
anything  new.  The  best  gardeners  are  those  who 
cannot  endure  that  any  fact  they  learn  should  re- 
main arbitrary  and  isolated.  Every  plant  is  to  them 
a  living  and  a  reasonable  being,  and  they  wish  to 
understand  it  as  the  poet  wishes  to  understand  men. 
They  like  to  know  the  conditions  of  its  native  home 
and  to  see  how  those  conditions  have  made  its  char- 
acter. They  like  to  see  how  far  it  is  adaptable  to  the 
ordinary  routine  of  the  English  garden,  and  whether 
cultivation  will  improve  it  or  injure  it. 

Now,  plants  seem  to  differ  in  their  adaptability  in 
the  most  arbitrary  way.  Speaking  generally,  one 
may  say  that  plants  which  have  adapted  themselves 
to  very  abnormal  conditions  have  usually  exhausted 
most  of  their  power  of  adaptation  in  the  process. 
Plants  which  have  learnt  to  grow  among  snow  and 
ice  cannot  endure  the  prosperity  of  a  rich  border. 
What  is  meat  to  a  Rose  or  a  Pseony  is  poison  to  them. 
But  this  is  not  always  so.  Some  plants  that  have 
learnt  to  thrive  in  adversity  will  also  thrive  in  a  pros- 
perity not  too  gross;  and  in  the  same  way  there  are 
plants  which,  preferring  prosperity,  will  also  put  up 
with  a  good  deal  of  adversity,  while  there  are  others 
that  will  not  endure  adversity  at  all.  The  reasons  for 
these  differences  in  adaptability  are  usually  unknown. 
One  can  only  lay  down  a  general  rule,  that  the  more 
normal  the  natural  conditions  of  a  plant  the  greater 


116  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

is  its  adaptability;  and  this  is  a  rule  of  much  value 
in  practice,  although  it  is  broken  by  many  exceptions 
that  can  be  learnt  only  by  experience. 

Every  good  gardener  likes  to  know  the  natural 
conditions  in  which  all  his  plants  grow.  But  he  learns 
from  experience  that  he  will  not  always  succeed  by 
imitating  those  natural  conditions  as  closely  as  pos- 
sible, for  very  often  he  will  not  be  able  to  imitate  the 
most  essential  of  all,  and  for  lack  of  that,  it  may  be 
that  all  his  other  imitations  will  be  merely  mischie- 
vous. There  is,  for  instance,  a  little  creeping  plant 
called  Nierembergia  rivularis,  whose  native  home  is 
in  marshy  places  in  South  America.  Most  books  on 
gardening,  therefore,  say  that  it  should  be  treated  as 
a  bog  plant;  some  that  it  should  be  planted  in  shady 
places.  Now  it  is  a  plant  that  comes  from  a  much 
hotter  climate  than  ours,  where,  no  doubt,  it  likes 
all  the  moisture  it  can  get.  But  in  England  it  likes 
all  the  sun  it  can  get,  and  has  not  the  same  need  of 
moisture.  In  England,  according  to  the  present  writer's 
experience,  it  will  thrive  in  fairly  rich  soil,  in  a  dry 
level  place,  provided  it  is  watered  in  the  hottest  weather; 
but  will  not  endure  the  cold  of  a  damp  place  in  winter. 
This  is  an  instance  of  a  plant  with  a  considerable 
power  of  adaptation,  which,  since  we  cannot  give  it 
all  its  native  conditions,  would  rather  have  none  of 
them  complete,  but  prefers  that  an  average  should 
be  struck  among  them;  and  there  are  many  plants 
like  it. 

We  have  always  to  remember  that  gardening  is 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  GARDENING      117 

not  a  natural  process.  There  are  very  few  plants  that 
in  most  gardens  can  be  supplied  with  exactly  the 
conditions  of  their  natural  homes;  and  the  aim  of 
horticulture  is  to  compensate  for  the  lack  of  these 
conditions  by  artificial  means.  The  skilful  gardener, 
when  he  has  observed  the  natural  conditions  of  a 
plant,  will  always  translate  them,  so  to  speak,  into 
garden  terms,  when  he  proceeds  to  make  use  of  his 
observations.  He  knows  that  most  plants,  fortunately, 
have  a  considerable  power  of  adaptation  to  artificial 
conditions;  but  he  knows,  also,  what  are  usually  the 
limits  of  that  power,  and  what  artificial  conditions  are 
necessary  to  compensate  for  the  lack  of  natural  ones. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  case  of  manure,  which  is  mainly 
an  artificial  aid  to  the  growth  of  plants,  and  which, 
therefore,  is  used  as  a  substitute  for  natural  con- 
ditions and  often  as  an  improvement  on  them.  Farm- 
yard or  stable  manure  has  more  than  one  use.  It  is 
both  a  plant-food  and  a  means  of  protection  against 
drought.  Now,  there  are  many  plants  that  like  man- 
ure as  a  food;  but  there  are  also  many,  particularly 
among  bulbs,  that  do  not  need  it  as  a  food  but  like 
it  as  a  protection  against  drought.  For  such  plants 
manure  will  be  unnecessary  where  they  are  in  no  danger 
of  suffering  from  drought.  In  a  garden  that  lies  low 
or  has  a  heavy  soil  few  bulbs  need  manure;  in  a  gar- 
den that  is  high  and  dry  many  are  the  better  for  it. 
But  manure,  where  it  is  used  only  as  a  protection 
against  drought,  must  be  applied  much  more  cau- 
tiously than  where  it  is  used  as  a  plant  food,  partic- 


118  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

ularly  in  the  case  of  bulbs.  Most  bulbous  plants  are 
apt  to  rot  if  manure  touches  the  bulb  itself,  and  to 
many  of  them  manure  is  poisonous  as  a  food.  It 
should  not,  therefore,  be  mixed  with  the  soil  about 
the  bulb,  as  it  may  be  mixed  with  the  soil  about  the 
roots  of  many  gross  feeding  plants,  such  as  Pansies 
or  Poeonies,  but  should  be  placed  well  below  the  bulb, 
so  that  the  roots  will  either  never  reach  it  or  will  only 
reach  it  when  they  have  grown  strong  and  when  the 
manure  has  lost  its  rankness.  There  are  many  plants, 
usually  supposed  to  dislike  manure,  which  are  the 
better  for  it  applied  thus  in  light,  hot  soils.  It  is  a 
common  belief,  for  instance,  that  all  Lilies  dislike 
manure,  and  so  the  most  of  them  do  anywhere  near 
the  bulb.  But  in  light  soils  the  Madonna  Lily,  Lilium 
testaceum,  L.  Chalcedonicum,  L.  Szovitzianum,  L. 
auratum,  L.  speciosum,  L.  pardalinum,  and  L.  super- 
bum  are  all  the  better  for  a  good  layer  of  well-rotted 
manure  placed  well  below  their  bulbs,  to  say  nothing 
of  easy  Lilies  like  L.  tigrinum  and  L.  croceum.  The 
manure  benefits  them  not  so  much  as  a  plant  food, 
though  some  of  them  are  even  the  better  for  this, 
nourishment  in  moderation,  but  as  an  artificial  pro- 
tection against  drought,  since  it  holds  moisture,  which 
is  drawn  upwards  towards  their  roots  and  bulbs  by 
the  heat  of  the  sun  just  when  they  need  it  most.  Ma- 
nure can  be  used  in  this  way  as  a  protection  against 
drought  for  many  surface-rooting  plants  which  may 
not  need  it  as  a  food.  But  the  gardener,  if  he  does 
not  know  for  certain  whether  or  not  it  may  be  poison- 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  GARDENING      119 

ous  to  a  plant,  should  be  very  cautious  in  his  use  of 
it.  It  is  quite  likely  that  many  Alpine  plants  would 
be  the  better  for  a  dose  of  manure  underneath  them 
as  a  protection  against  drought,  if  any  one  could  be 
sure  that  their  roots  would  not  reach  it.  But  un- 
fortunately they  are  apt  to  root  very  deeply,  partic- 
ularly in  search  of  moisture,  and  some  of  them,  if 
their  roots  got  down  to  a  layer  of  manure,  would 
quickly  die  of  indigestion;  for  in  their  native  homes 
they  get  very  little  nourishment,  and  so  have  come 
to  need  very  little. 

There  are  many  surface-rooting  plants,  however, 
that  like  manure  both  as  a  food  and  as  a  protection 
from  drought,  and  they  can  be  fed  with  it  from  above 
as  well  as  from  below.  Mulching  is  particularly  good 
for  surface-rooting  plants,  since  the  juices  of  the 
manure  quickly  reach  their  roots  and  since  the  manure 
itself  on  the  surface  protects  them  from  drought. 
Most  surface-rooting  plants  are  the  better  for  some 
kind  of  nourishment  applied  from  above,  especially 
if  they  are  plants  that  resent  being  moved  into  fresh 
soil.  Thus  Eremuri,  which  throw  out  thick  roots  in 
all  directions  just  under  the  surface  of  the  soil,  will 
often  thrive  wonderfully  where  they  would  otherwise 
seldom  flower  if  they  are  top-dressed  in  autumn  or 
early  spring  with  rich  loam  or  leaf-mould,  or  with 
old  manure  off  a  hot  bed.  And  in  the  same  way  the 
hardy  Cypripediums,  particularly  C.  spectabile,  the 
roots  of  which  run  like  a  network  of  whipcord  over 
the  surface  of  the  soil,  should  be  dressed  with  rich 


120  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

loam  and  leaf -mould  once  a  year.  With  them  this 
is  a  natural  treatment,  for  in  their  native  homes  they 
get  a  covering  of  fallen  leaves  every  autumn,  which 
no  doubt,  is  the  reason  why  their  roots  come  above 
ground.  Gardeners  are  too  apt  to  think  that  plants 
which  do  not  like  manure  do  not  need  to  be  fed  in 
any  way;  and  shrubs  like  Rhododendrons  and  Aza- 
leas often  fail  to  do  well  in  gardens  because  their  soil 
is  never  enriched.  In  their  native  homes  they  too 
get  an  autumn  mulch  of  fallen  leaves,  and  they  should 
have  it  in  captivity.  A  good  dressing  of  leaf-mould 
once  a  year  will  feed  them  and  protect  them  from 
drought.  Gardeners,  for  the  sake  of  neatness,  will 
often  sweep  all  shrubberies  clear  of  leaves  and  never 
remember  that  they  are  thereby  robbing  them  of 
their  natural  nourishment.  If  the  fallen  leaves  are 
removed  they  should  always  be  replaced  in  the  form 
of  leaf-mould  later  on. 

This  is  but  common  sense  in  gardening;  and  the 
whole  business  of  feeding  plants  should  be  governed 
by  common  sense,  that  is  to  say,  by  an  understanding 
of  every  plant's  requirements.  One  of  the  first  things 
that  a  good  gardener  seeks  to  know  about  a  new  plant 
is  the  nature  of  its  roots,  and  when  he  knows^  this  he 
can  at  least  conjecture  something  about  its  treat- 
ment. He  knows,  for  instance,  that  a  surface-root- 
ing plant  is  more  likely  to  suffer  from  drought  than 
one  that  roots  deeply.  He  knows  that  a  plant  with  a 
single  crown  and  a  thick  fleshy  root  is  more  difficult 
to  divide  than  one  with  a  number  of  crowns  and  a 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  GARDENING 

network  of  small  fibrous  roots.  The  character  of  a 
plant's  roots  will  also  tell  him  something  about  when 
it  should  be  planted,  a  matter  in'  which  many  gar- 
deners are  curiously  unintelligent.  As  a  general  rule, 
deep-rooting  plants  are  best  moved  or  divided  in  the 
autumn,  because  then  their  roots  have  time  to  re- 
cover and  strike  down  as  soon  as  growth  begins  in 
the  spring.  Such  plants  cannot  usually  be  moved 
without  much  damage  to  their  roots,  and  before  their 
roots  have  recovered  they  are  apt  to  suffer  much  from 
drought.  If  they  are  moved  in  the  spring  and  if  a 
drought  follows  upon  their  moving,  they  will  not  re- 
cover before  the  summer  heats,  and  then  they  will 
live  but  a  miserable  life  until  the  next  year.  Yet  one 
finds  that  many  gardeners  are  just  as  ready  to  move 
Oriental  Poppies  in  April  as  Pansies;  and  if  the  Pop- 
pies remain  miserable,  stunted,  and  half  withered 
tufts  all  the  summer,  the  gardener  regards  it  as  an 
"act  of  God,"  not  as  the  result  of  his  own  stupidity. 
Of  course,  if  a  deep-rooting  plant  is  not  very  hardy 
it  should  be  planted  in  the  spring,  and  if  it  is  but  a 
a  small  plant  that  can  be  moved  with  little  or  no  in- 
jury to  its  roots  spring  planting  will  not  check  its 
growth.  On  the  other  hand,  surface-rooting  plants 
can  usually  be  moved  in  spring  without  checking 
their  growth  at  all,  and  in  heavy  soils  the  spring  is 
often  the  best  time  for  planting  them,  so  that  they 
may  be  strong  and  well-established  before  they  have 
to  endure  a  winter.  There  are  no  arbitrary  rules  about 
the  time  for  planting  or  dividing.  Most  plants  can  be 


STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

moved  at  any  time  of  year  if  only  they  can  be  pro- 
tected against  drought  or  cold  until  they  have  estab- 
lished themselves.  But  since  it  is  difficult  to  do  this 
in  summer  and  in  winter,  the  spring  and  autumn  are 
the  favourite  seasons  for  planting  and  division.  There 
is  a  common  idea  that  plants  cannot  be  moved  when 
in  flower;  but  this  is  not  always  so.  It  is  far  better 
to  move  Gentiana  verna  or  even  G.  acaulis  in  full 
flower  than  in  late  autumn,  because  they  flower  in 
spring,  when  they  can  be  fairly  easily  protected  from 
drought,  and  if  they  are  well  watered  during  the 
summer  they  will  be  well  established  before  the  winter 
comes  again.  But  summer  flowering  plants  suffer 
much  if  subjected  to  the  double  strain  of  flowering 
and  moving  in  hot  weather,  especially  if  they  have  long 
roots.  There  are  some  plants  that  are  best  moved 
as  soon  as  possible  after  they  have  flowered,  so  that 
they  make  good  growth  before  the  next  year's  flower- 
ing. This  is  the  case  with  German  and  other  Irises 
of  the  same  class,  which  will  usually  flower  well  the 
year  after  moving  if  they  are  moved  about  a  month 
after  they  have  flowered  and  are  well  protected  from 
drought  until  they  have  recovered.  The  reason  of 
this  is  that  they  begin  to  make  their  growth  for  next 
year  soon  after  they  have  flowered,  and  that  this 
growth  is  interrupted  by  a  move  in  autumn.  Bulbs, 
of  course,  should  be  moved  when  they  are  at  rest; 
but  some  of  them  are  only  at  rest  for  a  very  short 
time.  The  Madonna  Lily,  for  instance,  begins  to  make 
new  growth  in  a  few  weeks  after  it  has  died  down. 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  GARDENING      123 

Therefore,  if  it  is  to  be  moved  at  all,  it  should  be  moved 
as  soon  as  it  has  died  down;  otherwise  it  will  receive 
a  check  from  which  it  may  never  recover. 

There  are  some  plants  which  need  to  be  moved 
pretty  often  if  they  are  not  to  deteriorate,  and  the 
reason  for  this  can  generally  be  found  in  their  habit 
of  growth  and  rooting.  Plants  which  have  deep  roots 
can  often  be  left  for  years  undisturbed,  and  often 
suffer  for  a  time  even  from  the  most  careful  shifting. 
On  the  other  hand,  plants  will  increase  rapidly  with 
a  network  of  surface-rooting  runners  or  suckers,  such 
as  Sidalcea  or  most  Michaelmas  Daisies,  are  apt  to 
exhaust  the  soil  in  which  they  grow,  and  often  need 
to  be  moved  every  two  years  at  least.  Again,  plants 
such  as  Primroses  and  Polyanthuses,  and  many  other 
Primulas,  which  start  with  a  single  crown  and  in  a 
year  or  two  break  up  into  several  crowns,  are  usually 
the  better  for  frequent  division,  as  the  different  crowns 
are  really  different  plants,  and  crowd  each  other.  A 
plant  like  Primula  denticulata  needs  to  be  divided 
every  year  when  it  grows  strongly,  otherwise  it  will 
soon  produce  only  poor  flowers;  and  this  division 
should  be  done  as  soon  as  possible  when  it  has  more 
than  one  crown,  so  that  the  plant  may  recover  in  time 
to  form  its  flowers  for  the  next  year.  We  have  chosen, 
almost  at  haphazard,  a  few  instances  of  the  applica- 
tion of  common  sense  in  gardening,  with  the  object 
of  showing  that  there  are  obvious  reasons  for  all  the 
diversities  of  treatment  which  seem  so  arbitrary  to 
the  beginner.  If  he  tries  to  understand  the  reason  of 


124  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

everything  that  he  does,  and  if  he  also  has  a  natural 
love  of  plants,  he  will  in  time  acquire  that  habit  of 
treating  plants  rightly  which  is  called  the  gardener's 
instinct. 


LILIES 

CLJES  are  perhaps  the  most  capricious  of  all  garden 
plants.  Some  are  familiar  to  our  gardens  and 
easy  enough  to  grow;  but  even  the  most  familiar 
of  all,  the  Madonna  Lily,  fails  unaccountably  some- 
times. Others  will  thrive  in  one  place,  but  not  in 
/mother  quite  near  it  which  seems  to  offer  exactly 
the  same  conditions.  Others,  again,  will  do  well 
enough  for  a  year  or  two,  but  then  are  pretty  sure  to 
dwindle  away  or  die  off  suddenly;  while  a  few  have 
hitherto  baffled  all  the  skill  of  experts.  Writers  upon 
lilies  are  apt  to  make  them  out  to  be  less  difficult  than 
they  are,  and  to  suggest  that  we  have  a  more  certain 
knowledge  of  their  requirements  than  we  really  have. 
The  consequence  is  that  enthusiasts  are  often  tempted 
into  experiments  that  can  only  end  in  disappointment. 
The  object  of  this  article  is  to  state  what  lilies  can  be 
grown  in  certain  conditions  with  a  fair  certainty  of 
permanent  success,  what  lilies  will  do  well  for  a  year 
or  two  in  English  gardens,  and  what  lilies  still  baffle 
all  efforts  to  establish  them.  It  is  not  possible,  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge,  to  write  with  any 
certainty  about  the  cultivation  of  the  more  difficult 
lilies,  and,  therefore,  we  shall  not  pretend  to  any  cer- 
tainty about  them.  There  are  some  difficult  plants 

that  are  difficult  for  obvious  reasons.    There  are  Irises 

125 


126  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

that  need  more  sun  than  our  summers  usually  provide. 
There  are  high  mountain  plants  that  suffer  from  our 
wet  winters.  We  know  what  these  want,  even  if  we 
cannot  supply  it.  But  we  do  not  know  with  any 
precision  what  it  is  that  a  good  many  lilies  want,  or 
what  kills  them  off  so  quickly  in  our  climate.  Many 
experiments  have  been  made  with  lilies,  such  as  Lilium 
Krameri,  L.  Washingtonianum,  and  L.  Philadelphicum, 
and  these  experiments,  whether  failures  or  successes, 
have  not  led  to  any  certainty.  It  is  likely  that  most 
of  the  hardy  lilies  which  annually  fail  in  our  gardens 
are  very  impatient  of  disturbance  and  never  recover 
from  it  when  they  are  imported  to  England  from  dis- 
tant countries.  We  have  heard  it  said  that  some  of 
the  North  American  lilies,  like  some  of  the  hardy 
Cypripediums,  never  flourish  in  captivity  even  in 
gardens  close  to  their  native  homes.  They  are  not 
likely,  therefore,  to  recover  from  the  shock  of  dis- 
turbance when  they  have  made  a  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic.  Sometimes,  very  likely,  these  lilies  are 
moved  more  carefully  and  at  more  favourable  seasons 
than  at  others,  and  this  would  account  for  occasional 
successes.  But  the  ordinary  gardener  cannot  count 
upon  such  precautions.  He  must  take  what  bulbs 
he  can  get  of  the  rarer  kinds  of  lilies,  and  he  must  ex- 
pect to  fail  with  them.  The  only  chance  of  success 
with  lilies  that  are  very  impatient  of  removal  would 
seem  to  be  to  grow  them  from  seed  in  England;  and 
this  has  been  done  in  some  cases  with  excellent  re- 
sults, though  not  yet,  perhaps,  with  any  of  the  most 


LILIES  127 

difficult  lilies.  Some  of  the  finest  plants  of  Lilium 
Szovitzianum  at  the  Royal  Horticultural  Gardens  at 
Wisley  were  raised  from  seed  by  the  late  Mr.  G.  F. 
Wilson,  and  were  either  not  moved  at  all  from  the 
seed-bed  or  were  moved  with  practically  no  distur- 
bance. Lilium  Szovitzianum  is  not  a  difficult  lily,  as 
lilies  go;  but  there  are  very  few  probably  in  Eng- 
land to  equal  those  at  Wisley.  This  experiment  of 
raising  lilies  from  seed  would  be  too  slow,  and  per- 
haps too  difficult  a  business  for  most  amateurs,  but 
it  might  be  tried  on  a  large  scale  by  lily  specialists 
and  might  result  in  the  acclimatization  of  some  of 
the  most  difficult  lilies.  Unfortunately,  many  of  the 
most  difficult  lilies  are  abundant  in  their  native  homes, 
and  so  are  imported  in  large  numbers  and  sold  fairly 
cheap  in  England,  with  the  probability,  and  in  some 
cases  almost  the  certainty,  that  they  will  disappoint 
those  who  buy  them. 

Before  we  proceed  to  speak  of  particular  lilies,  it 
will  be  well  to  say  something  about  the  culture  of  lilies 
in  general.  It  has  been  said  that  no  two  kinds  of  lilies 
should  be  grown  exactly  alike,  and  certainly  lilies 
vary  more  than  most  genera  of  plants  in  their  wants. 
But  one  or  two  general  rules  may  be  safely  laid  down 
about  them,  and  the  first  of  these  is  that  they  all 
like  a  soil  full  of  the  roots  of  trees  or  shrubs.  The 
reason  of  this  is  not  quite  clear.  It  cannot  be  merely 
that  they  like  sharp  drainage,  since  drainage  supplied 
by  other  means  will  not  make  up  for  the  want  of  a 
rooty  soil.  Some  lilies  will  do  well  enough  without 


128  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

a  rooty  soil;  but  those  who  fail  with  any  particular 
kind  should  try  it  in  a  rooty  place,  and  they  will  often 
meet  with  immediate  and  inexplicable  success.  Lilies 
also  all  like  good  drainage,  even  if  they  need  plenty 
of  moisture.  Their  bulbs,  with  their  loose  scales,  are 
more  apt  to  rot  in  stagnant  moisture  than  bulbs  which 
are  better  protected,  and  it  is  well,  in  the  case  of  bulbs, 
such  as  those  of  L.  Leichtlini  or  L.  Krameri,  which 
are  very  sensitive  to  damp,  to  plant  them  sideways, 
so  that  the  wet  will  not  settle  into  their  crowns  and 
the  interstices  between  their  scales.  Lilies  vary  as 
to  the  depth  at  which  they  should  be  planted,  because 
some  of  them  throw  out  roots  from  the  stalk,  and, 
therefore,  must  be  planted  deep  enough  for  these  roots 
to  form,  whereas  others  throw  out  roots  only  from  the 
base  of  the  bulb.  L.  candidum,  L.  testaceum,  L. 
giganteum,  and  most  of  the  Martagon  division  of 
lilies,  except  L.  Hansoni  and  L.  Leichtlini,  root  only 
from  the  base  of  the  bulb.  L.  auratum,  L.  speciosum, 
L.  Browni,  L.  longiflorum,  L.  croceum,  L.  elegans,  L. 
Henryi,  L.  Krameri,  L.  tigrinum,  L.  Hansoni,  and  L. 
Leichtlini  all  root  from  the  stalk.  The  beginner  should 
ascertain  in  each  particular  case  whether  the  lilies  he 
wishes  to  plant  are  stalk  or  only  bulb  rooting.  There 
are  no  lilies  that  like  a  very  hot  place,  although  some, 
such  as  L.  Chalcedonicum  and  L.  pomponium,  need 
a  good  deal  of  sun;  nor  yet  will  any  flourish  in  very 
heavy  shade.  The  greater  number  do  well  among 
low-growing  shrubs  which  will  protect  them  from 
late  frosts  and  also  from  the  extreme  heat  of  the  sum- 


LILIES  129 

mer  sun.  A  great  many  lilies  suffer  very  much  from 
late  frosts,  and  lilies  such  as  L.  auratum,  L.  specie- 
sum,  L.  Leichtlini,  L.  giganteum,  and  in  particular 
the  early  L.  Hansoni,  should  be  protected  from  them 
with  heather  or  other  branches  placed  lightly  about 
their  young  shoots.  Lilies  differ  so  much  in  the  soil 
they  require  that  no  general  rules  can  be  laid  down  on 
this  point.  None,  however,  like  a  very  stiff  clay  un- 
less it  is  well  drained  and  lightened  with  grit  and 
leaf-mould.  They  differ  also  as  to  the  time  at  which 
they  should  be  planted;  some  are  best  planted  in 
early  spring,  others  in  early  autumn  or  late  summer. 

The  lilies  that  will  usually  do  well  in  the  ordinary 
herbaceous  border  and  are  of  such  easy  culture  that 
even  the  beginner  may  attempt  them  with  confidence 
are  the  following:  — 

L.  candidum,  the  Madonna  Lily.  The  chief  enemy 
of  this  is  the  notorious  lily  disease,  and  it  can  be  best 
prevented  by  a  right  system  of  culture.  In  heavy 
soils  the  Madonna  Lily  should  be  planted  in  a  sunny, 
sheltered  place;  and  the  soil  should  be  lightened 
with  mortar-rubble.  It  has  been  said  that  this  lily 
objects  to  chalk,  but  we  have  seen  it  growing  magnif- 
icently in  a  very  chalky  soil,  and  in  our  experience 
it  likes  lime  in  all  forms.  It  also  likes  a  very  rooty 
soil;  and  in  light  soils  it  may  be  planted  in  a  north 
border  sheltered  by  shrubs,  but  not  shaded  by  them. 
In  light  soils  also  it  likes  a  good  layer  of  well  rotted 
cow  manure  well  under  the  bulbs.  In  all  cases  the  top 
of  the  bulb  should  be  only  an  inch  or  two  under  the 


130  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

surface  of  the  soil.  The  Madonna  Lily  starts  into 
growth  again  a  few  weeks  after  it  has  died  down,  and 
it  is  always  injured  by  disturbance  when  in  growth. 
It  should,  therefore,  be  planted  as  early  in  autumn 
or  late  summer  as  possible,  and  should  only  be  dis- 
turbed, if  at  all,  as  soon  as  it  has  died  down.  When 
it  is  doing  well,  it  should  be  left  alone;  and  gardeners 
should  not  be  allowed  to  disturb  the  soil  anywhere 
near  it.  The  forking  and  hoeing  of  gardeners  is  a 
frequent  cause  of  failure  with  all  lilies.  When  the 
Madonna  Lily  suffers  badly  from  the  disease  the  safest 
plan  is  to  dig  all  the  bulbs  up  at  once  and  burn  them, 
taking  care  not  to  plant  new  bulbs  in  the  same  place. 
They  sometimes  recover  if  they  are  dug  up  as  soon 
as  they  have  died  down,  and  if  the  bulbs  are  well 
dusted  with  sulphur  and  placed  in  full  sun  on  a  shelf 
in  the  greenhouse  to  bake  for  some  weeks.  It  is  well 
always  to  dust  the  bulbs  in  sulphur  when  they  are 
planted.  When  the  disease  first  appears,  it  may  some- 
times be  cured  if  the  leaves  of  the  plant  are  sprayed 
with  Bordeaux  mixture.  This  should  be  done  at 
intervals  of  a  week  or  so,  several  times.  Lilium  tes- 
taceum  is  said  to  be  a  natural  hybrid  between  the 
Madonna  Lily  and  L.  Chalcedonicum.  It  is,  after  the 
Madonna  Lily,  perhaps  the  finest  of  all  garden  lilies, 
and  it  is  easier  to  grow,  although  it  also  suffers  some- 
times from  the  lily  disease.  It  grows  very  tall  and 
has  beautiful  flowers  of  an  apricot  yellow  with  bright 
scarlet  anthers.  It  should  be  treated  like  the  Ma- 
donna Lily,  but  does  not  suffer  so  much  from  distur- 


LILIES  131 

i 

bance  and  remains  dormant  for  a  longer  period.  In- 
deed in  most  gardens  it  is  best  moved  into  fresh  soil 
every  three  years  or  so.  It  should  be  planted  in  early 
autumn.  In  some  soils  it  increases  rapidly. 

L.  croceum,  L.  Davuricum,  and  L.  elegans  are  all 
good  easy  lilies  and  can  be  grown  in  the  same  way; 
L.  elegans,  a  dwarf  lily  with  many  varieties,  needing 
rather  more  sun,  perhaps,  than  the  others.  They 
are  all  plants  for  the  ordinary  border,  liking  a  good 
dose  of  manure  well  under  the  bulbs  in  light  and 
poor  soils,  and  some  protection  from  surrounding 
plants  in  very  hot  places.  They  are  best  planted  in 
the  autumn  and  should  all  be  at  least  half  a  foot  deep, 
as  they  make  stem  roots. 

L.  tigrinum,  of  which  there  are  several  good  varie- 
ties, is  equally  easy  and  needs  much  the  same  culture. 
It  sometimes  suffers  if  too  much  crowded  or  over- 
shadowed by  other  plants,  and  also  if  it  is  grown  in 
too  exposed  places,  or  where  the  summer  sun  strikes 
full  upon  it.  Splendens  is,  perhaps,  the  best  variety. 

L.  Hansoni  is  a  fine  lily  of  the  Martagon  division 
with  stout  yellow  spotted  flowers.  It  will  grow  in 
any  good  border  soil,  but  the  flower  buds  are  often 
killed  by  late  frosts  and  should  be  protected  from 
them.  It  does  very  well  among  low-growing  shrubs, 
provided  they  do  not  overshadow  it. 

L.  Batemanniae  is  a  beautiful  lily  sometimes  classed 
as  a  variety  of  L.  elegans.  It  flowers  later,  how- 
ever, than  the  other  forms  of  L.  elegans,  and  the 
flowers  are  of  a  glowing  but  soft  orange  scarlet  colour. 


132  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

It  is  a  little  more  delicate  than  L.  elegans,  and  likes 
a  warm  sheltered  place  and  light  rich  soil.  L.  Pyrenai- 
cum,  a  yellow  lily  of  the  Martagon  division,  and  its 
scarlet  variety  are  both  easy  lilies  that  should  be 
planted  in  the  ordinary  border  in  early  autumn  and 
then  left  alone.  They  like  manure  under  the  bulbs 
in  a  light  or  poor  soil,  and  will  do  well  both  in  sun  and 
in  half  shade.  L.  Martagon  is  a  little  more  capricious 
perhaps,  and  prefers  half  shade.  It  should  not  be 
disturbed  when  well  established.  The  variety  Dal- 
maticum  is  a  much  finer  plant,  and  not  more  difficult 
to  grow.  The  beautiful  white  variety  is  certainly 
more  capricious.  It  likes  a  slight  slope  with  a  northerly 
aspect,  and  a  rooty,  stony  soil.  It  must  also  be  shel- 
tered both  from  strong  winds  and  from  the  extreme 
heat  of  the  sun.  It  is,  unfortunately,  rare  and  rather 
expensive,  although  an  old  plant.  It  sometimes  thrives 
wonderfully  in  old  cottage  gardens  without  any  atten- 
tion whatever,  and  fails  when  it  is  given  every  lux- 
ury. 

We  have  now  to  speak  of  lilies  which  need  more 
care  and  more  or  less  peculiar  conditions,  and  of  these 
we  will  deal  first  with  those  which  can  usually  be 
permanently  established  in  English  gardens  without 
much  difficulty.  Lilium  Chalcedonicum  is  a  fine  lily 
with  bright  scarlet  flowers  and  a  near  relation  of  the 
Martagon  or  Turk's-cap  lilies.  It  comes  from  the 
south  of  Europe  and  Asia  Minor,  and  therefore  re- 
quires a  good  deal  of  sun  to  ripen  the  bulbs.  It  should 
be  grown  in  a  warm  place  very  well  drained,  and  sel- 


LILIES  133 

dom  thrives  without  a  strong  dose  of  lime  in  the  soil. 
In  stiff  soils  this  should  be  given  in  the  form  of  mortar- 
rubble  about  the  bulbs.  It  is  supposed  to  be  a  capri- 
cious lily,  and  often  suffers  from  disease;  but  this 
usually  happens  when  it  does  not  get  enough  sun  or 
when  it  is  injured  by  late  frosts  or  stagnant  moisture 
about  the  roots.  It  suffers  less  than  most  lilies  from 
drought.  It  likes  a  rich  soil,  even  a  stiff  loam  if  well 
drained  and  mixed  with  mortar-rubble,  but  it  should 
be  sheltered  from  cold  winds.  Such  shelter  may  be 
given  by  Lavender  or  Rosemary  bushes  placed  so  that 
they  will  not  overshadow  it  too  much  or  screen  it 
from  the  south.  It  looks  its  best  growing  among 
these  southern  shrubs,  and  it  likes  a  soil  filled  with 
their  roots.  It  should  never  be  disturbed  when  thriv- 
ing, and  is  best  planted  in  early  autumn.  It  flowers 
towards  the  end  of  July. 

Lilium  pomponium,  a  smaller  lily,  but  very  like 
it,  should  be  treated  in  the  same  way,  but  is  easier  to 
grow  and  less  subject  to  disease.  It  also  likes  mortar- 
rubble,  especially  in  heavy  soils,  but  lime  is  not  es- 
sential to  it.  The  red  variety  of  L.  Pyrenaicum  is 
sometimes  sold  for  it,  but  is  an  inferior  plant.  Neither 
L.  pomponium  nor  L.  Chalcedonicum  should  be  planted 
deep,  as  they  do  not  make  any  stem  roots.  The  soil 
should  be  stamped  hard  about  the  bulbs,  and  should 
never  be  forked  or  disturbed  when  they  are  grow- 
ing. 

Lilium  Szovitzianum  is  a  splendid  lily,  tall  and 
robust.  The  flowers  are  pale  yellow  with  dark  spots. 


134  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

Well-grown  plants  are  4  or  5  ft.  high  and  bear  a 
dozen  or  more  flowers.  It  likes  a  good  loamy  soil 
mixed  with  leaf-mould,  but  is  said  to  thrive  in  stiff 
clay  if  well  drained.  It  suffers  from  drought  if  ex- 
posed to  the  full  heat  of  the  sun,  and  should  be  grown 
among  low  shrubs  or  herbaceous  plants.  It  will  sel- 
dom thrive  on  a  bare  patch  of  ground.  It  is  best 
planted  in  early  autumn  and  takes  some  years  to  reach 
its  full  beauty;  so  it  should  not  be  disturbed  when 
once  well  established.  It  grows  very  well  in  the  grass 
in  half  shade  at  Wisley,  and  can  be  raised  from  seed, 
though  this  is  a  slow  process.  It  is  often  called  also 
L.  monadelphum,  but  this  is  really  a  distinct  species 
with  flowers  of  a  darker  yellow. 

Three  North  American  lilies  —  L.  Canadense,  L. 
pardalinum,  and  L.  superbum  —  grow  well  and  in- 
crease in  a  moist  soil  rich  in  humus,  if  they  are 
protected  both  from  cold  winds  and  from  the  full 
heat  of  the  sun.  They  like  peat  well  enough,  but 
prefer  it  enriched  with  loam  and  humus.  L.  par- 
dalinum and  L.  superbum  will  grow  also  in  fairly 
dry  shady  places  if  they  are  well  watered  in  dry  weather. 
They  do  well  among  shrubs,  such  as  azaleas,  rhododen- 
drons, kalmias,  &c.,  but  they  must  not  be  smothered 
by  them.  When  the  soil  is  not  naturally  moist  it  is 
well  to  plant  them  in  a  slight  hollow  where  the  water 
will  be  collected  and  drain  down  to  their  roots.  Their 
chief  enemy  is  drought,  and  they  will  not  usually 
thrive  in  the  ordinary  border.  They  should  not  be 
disturbed  when  established,  and  if  grown  in  a  suit- 


LILIES  135 

able  place  will  increase  in  beauty  and  also  in  num- 
bers year  after  year.  L.  Canadense  grows  about  three 
feet  high,  and  has  usually  orange  yellow  flowers. 
L.  pardalinum  and  L.  superbum  will  grow  6  ft.  high 
or  more,  and  their  flowers  are  bright  orange  scarlet. 
L.  Grayi  is  a  beautiful  lily  with  crimson  drooping 
flowers  which  is  said  to  be  a  variety  of  L.  Canadense 
and  also  to  be  not  much  more  difficult  to  grow. 

Lilium  giganteum,  the  tallest  of  lilies,  grows  over  10 
ft.  high.  Its  flowers  are  relatively  small  and  not  partic- 
ularly beautiful  in  themselves,  though  the  whole  effect 
of  a  plant  in  flower  is  very  fine.  It  should  be  planted 
in  April  in  a  deep  soil  half  loam  and  half  humus,  with 
the  top  of  the  bulb  uncovered  by  soil,  and  it  must 
be  protected  from  late  frosts  and  from  drought.  When 
this  lily  flowers  the  flowering  bulb  dies  and  throws 
offsets,  which  should  be  taken  up  and  replanted  sep- 
arately, and  which  will  then  flower  in  a  year  or  two. 
It  is  best  to  start  with  small  bulbs  and  not  to  expect 
flowers  for  a  year  or  two.  L.  giganteum  is  a  lily  for 
woodland  glades  or  the  wild  garden  rather  than  for 
the  herbaceous  border. 

Lilium  Henryi  was  only  introduced  a  few  years 
ago,  and  is  a  most  valuable  lily,  perhaps  no  more 
difficult  than  L.  tigrinum.  In  the  shape  of  its  flowers 
and  in  its  growth  it  is  like  L.  speciosum,  but  the  flowers 
are  deep  orange  yellow,  and  it  grows  to  a  great  height. 
It  is  not  particular  about  soil,  but  does  best  perhaps 
in  deep  loam  and  leaf-mould  in  a  half-shaded  place 
among  low  shrubs.  It  will  stand  sun,  however,  much 


136  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

better  than  L.  speciosum.  The  bulbs  have  a  remark- 
able habit  of  travelling  underground. 

Lilium  Brownii  is  a  magnificent  lily,  close  to  L. 
longiflorum,  but  with  white  flowers  stained  on  the 
outside  with  brown.  It  is  also  much  more  lasting 
than  L.  longiflorum  in  our  climate,  and  will  often 
live  for  years  in  a  soil  of  light  sandy  loam  and  leaf- 
mould  and  in  a  sheltered  half -shaded  place.  It  will 
not  do  well  in  cold  soils  or  climates,  and  cannot  endure 
stagnant  moisture.  It  may  be  grown  with  care  in 
the  border,  but  is  always  a  little  capricious.  There 
are  several  varieties  of  it. 

We  will  pass  now  to  lilies  that  are  usually  short- 
lived in  our  climate,  though  some  of  them  can  be 
easily  grown  for  a  year  or  two.  Of  these  L.  speciosum 
is  the  easiest,  and  in  some  places  will  thrive  for  a 
good  many  years.  It  likes  a  deep  soil  of  leaf-mould,, 
peat,  and  loam,  and  a  sheltered  situation  among  low- 
growing  shrubs.  It  should  be  protected  from  late 
frosts,  from  the  extreme  heat  of  the  sun,  and  from 
drought.  There  are  a  good  many  varieties  of  L.  specio- 
sum, of  which  Kraetzeri,  with  pure  white  flowers,  is 
one  of  the  best.  L.  speciosum  flowers  late  in  the  year, 
and  should  be  planted,  if  possible,  with  a  southerly 
aspect,  as  otherwise  the  flowers  may  be  spoilt  by  early 
autumn  frosts. 

L.  auratum  requires  the  same  culture,  but  is  apt 
to  die  out  sooner  than  L.  speciosum.  Its  variety 
platyphyllum  is  more  robust,  and  will  sometimes 
last  for  years  in  English  gardens.  The  chief  reason 
why  L.  auratum  and  L.  speciosum  die  out  is  probably 


LILIES  137 

that  our  summers  are  not  warm  enough  for  them; 
and,  since  they  cannot  be  exposed  to  the  full  heat  of 
the  sun,  it  is  difficult  to  give  them  enough  warmth. 
They  do  best  in  warm,  sheltered  half-shady  places, 
and  should  never  be  planted  with  a  north  aspect, 
except  in  very  warm  parts  of  the  country.  They  re- 
quire a  good  drainage,  and  in  dry  soils  it  is  a  good 
plan  to  sink  drain-pipes  vertically  into  the  ground 
among  the  bulbs  to  such  a  depth  that  water  poured 
down  them  will  come  immediately  to  the  roots  at  the 
base  of  the  bulbs.  As  they  make  large  stem  roots, 
they  should  be  planted  deep. 

Lilium  longiflorum,  of  which  there  are  several 
varieties,  seldom  does  well  for  more  than  a  year  or 
so  in  the  open.  The  flowers  also  suffer  much  from 
heavy  rains.  It  should  be  treated  like  L.  auratum, 
but  endures  sun  better.  The  variety  Takesima  is 
perhaps  the  best  for  outdoor  culture.  Lilium  Krameri 
is  a  magnificent  lily  with  flowers  like  those  of  L.  longi- 
florum, only  pink.  It  is  very  delicate  and  should  be 
grown  in  a  warm,  half-shaded  place  in  a  soil  consist- 
ing mainly  of  rubble,  sand,  and  leaf-mould.  The 
drainage  should  be  as  sharp  as  possible,  and  it  is  well 
to  surround  the  bulbs  entirely  with  rubble  and  sand. 
It  will  sometimes  endure  for  several  years  if  very 
carefully  grown.  L.  rubellum,  a  very  small  pink  lily, 
requires  the  same  kind  of  treatment,  but  is  perhaps 
more  robust.  It  does  best  on  a  dry,  rooty  bank,  half- 
shaded. 

Lilium  concolor  and  L.,  coridion  are  also  small 
lilies  that  often  die  out  in  our  gardens.  They  do  best 


138  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

in  loam  and  peat  or  leaf-mould  in  a  sheltered  and 
half-shaded  place.  L.  Leichtlini  is  a  pretty  yellow- 
spotted  lily  that  should  be  grown  like  L.  speciosum, 
but  is  very  impatient  of  stagnant  moisture.  L.  tenui- 
folium  is  a  most  beautiful  little  lily  with  scarlet  flowers 
somewhat  like  those  of  L.  pomponium,  but  more 
delicate.  It  is  easy  enough  to  grow  for  one  year  in 
a  well-drained,  half-shaded  place,  and  in  a  soil  of 
loam  and  leaf-mould.  Unfortunately  it  almost  al- 
ways dies  out  after  it  has  flowered  once.  It  is  prob- 
ably short-lived  by  nature,  but  it  can  be  raised  quicker 
than  most  lilies  from  seed;  and,  since  it  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  all,  this  is  worth  attempting. 

A  good  many  North  American  lilies,  though  oc- 
casionally cultivated  in  English  gardens,  are  either 
very  capricious  or  apparently  impossible  to  grow. 
Thus  L.  Humboldtii  and  L.  Parryi  occasionally  do 
well  for  a  time  at  least,  but  they  are  plants  only  for 
experts.  L.  Humboldtii  appears  to  thrive  in  loam 
sometimes  in  the  milder  and  damper  parts  of  the 
country,  L.  Parryi  seems  to  do  best  in  a  rather  dry, 
half-shady  place.  Other  North  American  lilies,  such 
as  L.  Washingtonianum,  L.  Philadelphicum,  and  L. 
maritimum,  have  not  yet,  we  believe,  been  grown 
with  permanent  success  anywhere  in  England,  even 
by  Mr.  Wilson  at  Wisley.  It  is  well  to  surround  the 
bulbs  of  all  the  more  delicate  lilies  with  silver  sand 
and  to  place  a  lump  of  peat  under  them  so  as  to  en- 
courage root  action. 


THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN 


THE  fact  that  a  third  edition  of  Mr.  T.  H.  Maw- 
son's  "Art  and  Craft  of  Garden  Making"  has 
lately  appeared  is  a  sign  that  the  old  naturalistic 
ideas  of  garden  design  are  losing  their  hold  upon  the 
public;  for  Mr.  Mawson,  both  in  precept  and  ex- 
ample, is  altogether  against  naturalism  in  gardening. 
This  does  not  mean  that  he  is  altogether  against 
nature.  His  advice,  put  shortly,  is  —  Never  imitate 
nature  with  intent  to  deceive;  but,  where  there  is 
natural  beauty  already  in  a  garden,  make  use  of  it. 
It  is  mere  pedantry,  he  says,  to  condemn  all  com- 
binations of  nature  and  art.  "Even  in  prosaic  manu- 
factures many  successes  depend  upon  nature's  as- 
sistance and  supplies  wisely  applied  by  man,  notably 
in  dyeing  and  fermentation  and  many  others.  An 
illustration  of  frequent  occurrence  is  to  be  found  in 
the  combination  of  terrace  walls  built  on  the  natural 
rock  which  crops  out  of  the  ground;  a  combination 
which  is  most  effective  when  skilfully  done.  As- 
sisting or  touching  up  nature  is  more  a  question  of 
the  spirit  in  which  it  is  done,  rather  than  the  prin- 
ciple which  calls  forth  criticism."  This  is  not  very 

well  expressed,  but  the  meaning  is  clear  and  the  il- 

139 


140  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

lustration  apt.  Both  naturalists  and  formalists  are 
apt  to  be  pedantic  in  the  application  of  their  prin- 
ciples. The  naturalist  forgets  that  in  ninety-nine 
gardens  out  of  a  hundred  nature  cannot  be  plausibly 
imitated,  even  if  such  imitation  were  the  right  aim  of 
gardening.  The  formalist  forgets  that  the  material 
of  a  garden  is  for  the  most  part  living  material  and 
that  there  is  no  necessary  incongruity  between  it  and 
the  living  things  of  nature.  A  great  part  of  the  beauty 
of  good  formal  gardening  comes  from  the  contrast 
between  the  limited  and  unchanging  forms  of  things 
that  are  made  by  man  and  the  variety  and  unceasing 
changes  of  plant  life.  The  most  familiar  example 
of  such  a  contrast  is  to  be  found  in  ivy  or  a,ny  other 
creeper  growing  up  a  house  or  a  church  or  a  bridge. 
But  the  beauty  is  lost  or  much  diminished  when  the 
contrast  disappears  with  any  overgrowth  of  the  plant. 
If  a  building  is  beautiful  in  itself,  it  should  not  be 
smothered  in  creepers;  and,  even  if  it  is  not  beautiful, 
it  has  an  air  of  desolation  and  neglect  when  so  smoth- 
ered. There  is,  of  course,  a  modern  fancy  for  desola- 
tion and  neglect,  which  is,  no  doubt,  a  reaction  against 
extreme  artificiality  of  life  and  the  result  of  a  disgust 
for  the  ugliness  of  most  modern  things  made  by  man. 
It  is,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  Byronism  of  taste;  and,  as 
Byronism  was  the  result  of  unhealthy  living,  so  this 
is  the  result  of  unhealthy  art.  In  great  ages  of  art 
men  have  never  wished  to  make  their  gardens  look 
like  wildernesses  or  their  houses  like  overgrown  ruins. 
They  have  been  pleased  with  their  own  handiwork, 


THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN    141 

and  confident  of  their  power  to  improve  nature  in 
subduing  her  to  their  own  purposes. 

In  a  garden  man  subdues  nature  to  his  own  pur- 
poses, and  to  pretend  that  he  is  not  doing  so  is  mere 
affectation.  But,  at  the  same  time,  there  is  no  reason 
why  he  should  make  an  arrogant  display  of  his  con- 
quest, why  he  should  not  use  all  beautiful  accidents 
of  nature  that  will  not  conflict  with  the  aims  of  his 
art.  There  are  some  formal  gardeners  who  want  all 
their  plants  to  look  like  architectural  ornaments, 
mere  vegetable  repetitions  of  stonework  conventions; 
and  it  is  an  unfortunate  piece  of  luck  for  them  that 
nature  has  produced  some  trees  and  plants  that  look 
as  if  man  and  not  she  had  made  them,  and  others 
that  can  be  easily  cut  into  any  shape  that  takes  the 
designer's  fancy.  The  use  of  these,  or  the  misuse  of 
them,  deprives  formal  gardening  of  one  of  its  chief 
beauties,  that  contrast  between  the  forms  of  architec- 
ture and  the  forms  of  natural  growth  of  which  we 
have  already  spoken.  It  is  just  as  absurd  to  attempt 
to  make  plants  look  like  architectural  ornaments  as 
to  attempt  to  make  a  garden  look  like  a  piece  of  wild 
nature,  and  in  each  case  the  absurdity  comes  from 
the  same  desire  to  make  things  seem  what  they  are 
not,  the  desire  that  produces  so  many  modern  kinds 
of  ugliness.  A  garden  is  not  a  piece  of  wild  nature, 
and  a  plant  is  not  an  architectural  ornament.  All 
make-believes  of  this  kind  do  violence  to  the  essential 
character  of  the  material  which  they  use;  and,  whether 
they  run  into  excess  of  naturalism  or  excess  of  formal- 


142  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

ism,  they  are  wrong,  because  they  are  unnatural. 
But  this  is  not  to  say  that  trees  or  shrubs  should  never 
be  clipped.  Their  treatment  must  depend  upon  the 
uses  to  which  they  are  put;  and  this  is  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  all  good  garden  design.  If  a  plant 
is  used  as  an  ornament  in  the  garden,  then  it  should 
be  allowed  to  grow  to  its  fullest  natural  beauty.  But, 
if  it  is  grown  for  use,  then  it  should  be  treated  in  any 
way  that  will  make  it  more  useful.  Thus,  if  May- 
trees  are  grown  for  ornament,  they  should  be  allowed 
to  grow  freely,  and  not  be  clipped  into  any  artificial 
shape,  since  no  artificial  shape  can  be  so  beautiful 
as  the  natural  form  of  the  tree.  But,  if  they  are  used 
as  a  hedge,  they  should  be  clipped  to  make  them  serve 
their  purpose.  There  is  no  make-believe  in  a  hedge. 
It  is,  what  it  professes  to  be,  a  vegetable  wall  or  en- 
closure, and  there  is  no  reason  whatever  why  living 
vegetables  should  not  be  used  for  such  a  purpose  as 
much  as  dead  vegetables  or  as  minerals.  Also,  there 
is  no  reason,  of  course,  why  trees  of  all  kinds  should 
not  be  cut  back  to  enhance  the  beauty  of  their  natural 
growth  and  blossom,  or  to  prevent  them  from  grow- 
ing where  they  are  not  wanted.  The  only  rule  about 
clipping  trees  or  shrubs  is  that  it  should  always  be 
done  not  as  unnatural  ornament,  but  for  some  good 
practical  reason,  and  when  the  reason  is  obvious  the 
clipped  tree  very  seldom  looks  ugly,  and  often  has  a 
peculiar  charm  of  its  own,  because  it  gives  evidence 
of  human  care  and  pains  intelligently  applied.  Thus 
a  clipped  yew  pleases  us  in  a  narrow  cottage  garden, 


THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN    143 

because  it  is  clipped  to  give  space,  and  even  topiary 
work  in  such  places  is  often  pleasant  enough,  since 
the  clipping  is  necessary,  and  the  elaborate  forms 
which  it  takes  are  merely  expressions  of  the  cottager's 
fancy  and  of  his  delight  in  his  work.  But  there  is 
no  such  reason  for  clipping  a  yew  on  a  wide  expanse 
of  lawn.,  and  topiary  work  there  is  not  an  expression 
of  the  gardener's  delight  in  his  work,  but  a  mere  task 
to  which  he  is  set  by  the  whim  of  his  employer.  There- 
fore, we  think  only  of  the  labour  that  has  been  wasted 
on  it,  and  take  no  pleasure  in  it.  The  principles  thus 
applied  to  the  treatment  of  trees  and  shrubs  should 
be  applied  to  all  matters  of  garden  design.  In  laying 
out  a  garden  we  should  consider  not  what  are  the  rules 
of  formalism  or  naturalism,  but  what  is  our  object 
in  making  a  garden  and  each  particular  part  of  it, 
and  also  whether  our  object  is  the  best  possible.  The 
object  of  many  modern  gardeners  is  purely  horti- 
cultural, and  often  it  is  not  even  to  grow  beautiful 
flowers,  but  merely  curious  or  difficult  ones.  When 
that  is  so,  the  garden  cannot  be  beautiful,  for,  if  the 
gardener  does  not  aim  at  beauty,  he  may  be  sure 
that  he  will  not  attain  it.  But,  assuming  that  the 
gardener  wishes  to  grow  beautiful  flowers,  we  may 
further  assume,  if  he  has  any  intelligence,  that  he 
wishes  to  display  their  beauty  to  the  best  advantage, 
and  he  cannot  do  this  without  some  grasp  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  garden  design.  If  he  thinks  that  he  has  only 
to  imitate  nature,  let  him  remember  that  nature  pro- 
duces her  own  beauty  in  conditions  quite  different 


144  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

from  those  of  any  garden.  One  condition  which  the 
garden  eliminates  is  the  struggle  for  life,  with  all  its 
reckless  profusion.  The  gardener  is  not  content  that 
a  plant,  when  it  has  flowered  and  seeded,  should  take 
its  chance  of  being  smothered  by  other  plants  that 
flower  later;  and  all  that  conflict  and  smothering, 
which  delight  him  at  their  most  beautiful  moments 
in  woodland  and  meadow  as  evidences  of  the  prodigal- 
ity of  nature,  would  vex  him  in  a  garden,  as  mere 
signs  of  idleness  and  neglect.  Also,  the  plants  in  a 
garden  are  not,  like  wild  plants,  all  natives  of  one 
country  and  harmonious  either  by  association  or  by 
some  natural  law.  They  come  from  many  different 
countries  and  natural  conditions,  and,  unless  arranged 
with  care,  often  look  incongruous  together.  There- 
fore, even  if  the  gardener's  one  desire  is  to  grow  beau- 
tiful plants  and  to  display  their  beauty  to  the  best 
advantage,  he  must,  at  any  rate,  design  his  arrange- 
ment of  them  on  some  principle  both  horticultural 
and  aesthetic,  and  he  will  often  find  it  difficult  to  draw 
a  sharp  line  between  the  horticultural  and  the  aesthetic 
problem.  Both  the  health  and  the  beauty  of  a  plant 
are  spoilt  if  it  is  smothered;  and  a  plant  which  grows 
naturally  in  some  peculiar  conditions  will  often  neither 
thrive  nor  look  well  in  ordinary  conditions  and  among 
plants  that  grow  naturally  in  such  conditions. 

Directly  the  gardener  begins  to  consider  not  merely 
the  beauty  of  the  plant  in  itself,  but  the  question  of 
its  environment  as  affecting  that  beauty,  he  is  drawn 
into  the  whole  question  of  garden  design,  at  least  in 


THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN    145 

so  far  as  it  concerns  the  arrangement  of  plants,  and 
then  at  once  he  finds  that  the  naturalistic  theory  fails 
him.  He  cannot  imitate  nature  in  the  arrangement 
of  plants  that  have  their  native  homes  in  different 
continents  and  may  never  have  made  each  other's 
acquaintance  until  they  meet  in  his  garden,  and,  if 
he  attempts  no  arrangement  at  all,  he  will  find  that 
he  has  produced  a  chaos  far  uglier  than  the  worst 
failures  of  nature,  which  are  often  ugly  enough  — 
the  kind  of  chaos  which  is  found  in  the  ordinary  mixed 
shrubbery  of  a  suburban  garden.  It  is  plain,  there- 
fore, that  even  the  gardener  who  cares  for  nothing 
but  his  flowers,  and  thinks  of  his  garden  only  as  a 
place  to  grow  flowers  in,  must  yet  consider  design,  if 
he  is  to  display  them  to  the  best  advantage.  The 
original  and  true  meaning  of  design  is  merely  pur- 
pose. The  gardener  who  designs  his  garden  has  an 
aesthetic  purpose,  and  therefore  goes  further  than 
nature,  which,  in  the  arrangement  of  plants,  so  far 
as  we  can  tell,  has  no  aesthetic  purpose  at  all.  But 
directly  he  begins  to  consider  the  design,  even  if  he 
consider  it  only  from  the  point  of  view  of  his  flowers, 
he  will  find  that  he  can  have  no  design  without  some 
degree  of  formality.  He  wishes,  for  instance,  for  some 
contrast  between  two  plants  of  very  different  char- 
acter, so  that  the  beauty  of  both  may  be  enhanced. 
That  contrast  will  probably  be  insignificant  in  only 
one  example.  He  must  either,  therefore,  repeat  it 
at  intervals  along  a  border,  or  else  emphasize  it  by 
the  use  of  a  good  many  plants  of  the  two  contrasting 


146  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

kinds,  arranged  together  in  one  place.  In  either  case 
there  will  be  some  formality  in  his  arrangement. 
Some  of  the  most  eloquent  advocates  of  natural  gar- 
dening have  devised  the  most  elaborate  and  often 
excellent  schemes  for  the  planting  of  borders,  and, 
the  better  their  schemes  are,  the  more  formality  there 
is  in  them.  They  protest  against  the  word  formality, 
because  it  makes  them  think  of  carpet  bedding  and 
ribbon  borders;  but  these  are  only  coarse  and  art- 
less examples  of  formality.  A  fine  formal  design  does 
not  catch  the  eye  and  drag  it  along  a  long  line  of  dis- 
cordant colours.  It  has  its  splendours  and  its  quiet 
places,  its  multitudinous  and  solitary  beauties,  its 
contrasts  and  its  harmonies  both  of  form  and  of  colour, 
like  a  picture  by  Titian.  It  may  not  look  formal, 
but,  if  it  is  both  restful  and  exciting  to  the  eye,  rais- 
ing expectations  only  to  gratify  them,  we  may  be 
sure,  and  we  shall  discover  by  a  little  analysis,  that 
it  has  a  formal  basis,  like  a  great  piece  of  music  that  at 
a  first  hearing  may  seem  to  be  a  wilderness  of  beauti- 
ful sound.  The  present  writer  has  always  found  that 
any  arrangement  of  plants  which  has  struck  him  by 
its  beauty  has  been  based  upon  the  repetition  of  cer- 
tain dominant  features,  and  such  a  basis  is  formal, 
although  it  is  also  found  in  the  best  effects  of  nature. 
Nature  supplies  motives  for  design  as  she  supplies 
material,  but  because  they  are  accidental  in  her  we 
are  not  to  suppose  that  they  will  come  by  accident 
in  the  garden.  So  far  we  have  spoken  only  of  design 
in  the  arrangement  of  flowers,  on  the  assumption 


THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN    147 

that  the  garden  is  to  be  considered  only  as  a  place 
for  plants.  In  another  article  we  will  speak  of  design 
on  the  assumption  that  the  garden  is  also  a  place  for 
human  beings,  an  assumption  which  must,  of  course, 
have  a  considerable  influence  on  the  treatment  of 
flowers  in  it. 

II 

It  is  only  in  modern  times  that  the  garden  has 
come  to  be  thought  of  as  a  home  for  flowers  and  not 
for  human  beings.  Mr.  Mawson  in  his  "Art  and 
Craft  of  Garden  Making"  says  that  the  medieval 
and  Renaissance  gardeners  regarded  the  garden  as 
a  "becoming  setting  to  the  mansion."  The  landscape 
gardeners,  beginning  with  Capability  Brown,  ignored 
the  home  altogether  in  their  designs,  and  also  its 
inhabitants.  Civilized  human  beings  were  anachro- 
nisms in  their  gardens,  though  Adam  and  Eve,  in  fine 
summer  weather,  might  have  harmonized  with  them. 
They  were  realists,  Mr.  Mawson  says,  and  the  older 
designers  were  idealists.  But  in  this  case,  as  in  many 
others,  common  sense  was  with  the  idealists,  since 
their  idealism  was  based  upon  plain  facts.  Gardens, 
they  knew,  were  meant  to  be  inhabited,  so  far  as  our 
climate  would  allow,  by  civilized  human  beings;  and 
they  tried  to  make  them  as  convenient  as  possible 
for  that  purpose.  The  landscape  gardeners,  forget- 
ting this  fact,  made  their  gardens  as  unhomely  as 
they  could.  They  also  had  far  less  interest  in  horti- 
culture than  the  earlier  designers.  They  were  in- 


148  STUDIES  IN  GAKDENING 

clined  to  leave  that,  like  everything  else,  to  nature. 
But,  in  spite  of  them,  the  deep-rooted  English  delight 
in  flowers  persisted  and  increased  all  through  the 
nineteenth  century;  and  since  it  was  no  longer  con- 
trolled by  the  old  principles  of  garden  design,  the 
cultivation  of  flowers  became  the  chief  purpose  of 
pleasure  gardening,  until  at  the  present  day  most 
people  would  stare  if  it  were  suggested  to  them  that 
pleasure  gardening  ought  to  have  any  other  purpose. 
And  yet  it  is  plain  enough  that  a  pleasure  garden  is 
meant  to  give  pleasure  to  human  beings  and  should 
be  designed  with  that  object.  Let  it  be  as  beautiful 
as  it  can  be  made,  since  beauty  is  one  of  the  main 
elements  of  pleasure,  but  let  its  beauty,  like  that  of 
a  living  room,  be  controlled  by  use.  Have  as  many 
flowers  as  you  like,  but  think  of  them,  not  as  the 
reason  for  the  garden's  existence,  but  as  its  ornaments, 
as  you  would  think  of  the  ornaments  of  a  living  room. 
A  museum  may  be  interesting,  but  it  is  not  a  place 
to  live  in;  nor  yet  is  a  garden  that  is  a  mere  museum 
of  plants.  If  garden  designers  would  forget  the  quarrel 
about  formal  and  realistic  gardens  and  design  only 
for  pleasure  and  comfort  they  would  avoid  many 
of  the  errors  into  which  they  commonly  fall.  If  pleasure 
and  comfort  were  their  main  objects  they  would  al- 
ways make  the  best  of  existing  conditions.  They 
would  not  try  to  turn  a  suburban  slip  of  ground  into 
a  wilderness  or  a  wild  hillside  into  a  tea  garden.  Their 
problem  would  be  simplified,  because  it  would  become 
concrete  instead  of  abstract,  just  as  the  painter's 


THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN    149 

problem  is  simplified  when  he  has  to  decorate  a  given 
space  instead  of  painting  pictures  at  large. 

^Esthetic  problems  are  always  most  successfully 
solved  when  they  are  not  purely  aesthetic;  and  it  is  be- 
cause the  problem  of  garden  designs  has  become  purely 
aesthetic  that  it  now  seems  so  difficult.  If  the  designer, 
instead  of  asking  himself  where  he  should  place  his 
herbaceous  border  and  where  his  rock-garden  or  his 
rosary  or  his  plantations  of  flowering  shrubs,  were  to 
consider  how  best  he  could  contrive  places  of  coolness 
and  shade  for  the  summer  and  sheltered  sunny  walks 
for  the  winter,  he  would  find  that  his  aesthetic  and 
horticultural  problems  were  beginning  to  solve  them- 
selves. Flowers  he  would  use  as  decoration  and, 
using  them  so,  he  would  soon  discover  a  principle 
for  their  arrangement.  Trees  and  shrubs  he  would 
employ  mainly  for  use,  to  give  shelter  and  shade; 
and  therefore  he  would  avoid  the  random  planting 
of  them  now  so  common.  He  would  also  avoid  ex- 
cesses of  formalism,  since  he  would  not  clip  those 
trees  or  shrubs  that  were  planted  for  shade,  but  only 
those  which  needed  clipping  that  they  might  grow 
close  for  shelter.  He  would  be  very  sparing  in  his 
use  of  what  are  called  "  ornamental  conifers,"  now 
so  often  misused  by  formalists  and  naturalists  alike. 
He  would  not  plant  a  row  of  Thujas  in  front  of  a  yew 
hedge  because  he  wished  to  advertise  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  formalist;  nor  would  he  dot  them  anyhow  about 
a  lawn  for  no  reason  whatever.  Monkey  Puzzles  he 
would  leave  for  gardens  where  there  are  monkeys  to 


150  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

puzzle.  It  is  in  the  treatment  of  trees  and  shrubs 
that  naturalistic  gardening  has  failed  most  com- 
pletely, since  it  has  forgotten  their  uses  and  treated 
them  as  mere  instruments  of  illusion.  As  Mr.  Maw- 
son  says,  they  should  be  employed  for  use,  and  there 
should  be  no  concealment  of  the  fact  that  they  are  so 
employed.  "  The  various  flower  gardens  or  tennis  lawns 
.  .  .  would  have  their  divisions,  whether  hedges  or 
other  arrangement,  so  treated  as  to  express  at  once 
their  use.  To  get  shade,  instead  of  creating  it  entirely 
by  means  of  loose  masses  or  clumps  of  trees,  he  (the 
designer)  would  obtain  it  by  means  of  alleys,  covered 
bowers,  pergolas,  or  avenues,  each  of  which  would 
show  at  once  the  designer's  intention."  The  ordinary 
mixed  shrubbery  certainly  does  not  show  at  once 
the  designer's  intention,  since  as  a  rule  he  has  no  in- 
tention whatever,  except  to  find  a  place  for  shrubs; 
nor  does  it  usually  serve  any  useful  purpose,  since  it 
provides  neither  shelter  nor  shade.  Its  purpose,  in 
fact,  is  purely  aesthetic,  and  in  ninety-nine  cases  out 
of  a  hundred  it  fails  entirely  in  that  purpose,  as  a  mere 
hotch-potch  of  decorative  objects  must  usually  fail. 

Mr.  Mawson  insists  that  the  main  lines  of  a  gar- 
den should  usually  be  straight,  or  as  straight  as  they 
can  be  made;  and  this  is  a  safe  rule  to  follow,  pro- 
vided the  designer  does  not  make  a  fetish  of  it.  They 
should  be  straight,  not  because  we  are  growing  tired 
of  the  fashion  of  curving  lines,  but  so  that  they  may 
express  the  designer's  purpose  as  simply  and  plainly 
as  possible.  A  path,  for  instance,  if  it  is  a  means  of 


THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN    151 

providing  a  dry  passage  from  one  part  of  the  garden 
to  another,  should  be  straight  so  that  it  may  be  short. 
But  when  a  garden  is  designed  to  be  a  mere  assemblage 
of  decorative  features,  flower-beds  and  shrubberies 
and  rosaries  and  rock  gardens,  then  naturally  the 
paths  will  wind  about  from  one  feature  to  another, 
expressing  by  their  wanderings  the  designer's  lack 
of  purpose.  In  the  same  way  a  hedge  will  be  straight 
if  it  is  meant  to  provide  a  sheltered,  sunny  aspect, 
and  trees  will  be  planted  in  an  avenue  or  an  alley  if 
they  are  meant  to  provide  shade.  But  if  they  have 
no  such  definite  purpose  they  will  be  arranged  ac- 
cording to  the  whim  of  the  designer  or  the  fashion 
which  happens  to  be  in  favour  with  him.  Straight 
walks,  straight  hedges,  and  straight  avenues  may  be 
ugly  enough,  and  are  always  ugly  when  they  are  de- 
signed without  any  purpose  or  coherence;  and  it  is 
certainly  true  that  a  want  of  purpose  can  be  better 
concealed  with  curving  lines,  which  is,  perhaps,  the 
true  reason  why  they  have  become  so  popular.  But 
the  use  of  straight  lines  is  a  wholesome  discipline  to 
the  designer,  since,  if  he  lacks  purpose,  they  will  never 
conceal  the  fact  from  him  or  from  any  one  else,  and  his 
design  will  look  silly,  if  it  is  silly;  whereas,  we  are 
how  all  so  used  to  naturalistic  designs  without  use  or 
purpose  that  we  never  even  ask  ourselves  what  their 
meaning  may  be.  We  are  inured  to  misplaced  shrub- 
beries, but  we  are  not  inured  to  misplaced  hedges  or 
avenues,  and  can  still  apply  some  principle  of  criti- 
cism to  them. 


152  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

To  design  with  purpose,  therefore,  and  to  express 
your  purpose  clearly  in  your  design,  is  in  one  way 
much  more  difficult  than  to  make  an  arbitrary  arrange- 
ment of  flowers,  grass,  trees,  and  shrubs;  but  in  an- 
other it  is  much  easier.  It  is  more  difficult  because 
the  main  lines  of  the  design  must  be  clearly  thought 
out  and  fixed  before  a  sod  is  turned,  and  because  there 
must  be  a  good  reason  for  all  of  them.  It  is  easier 
because,  when  once  these  main  lines  are  determined, 
the  details  of  decoration  will  be  more  or  less  clearly 
suggested  by  them,  and  so  the  problem  of  flower  and 
shrub  arrangement  will  be  very  much  simplified.  In 
a  garden  well  planned  for  use  and  pleasure  there  will 
be  room  for  flowers  of  all  kinds  arranged  in  many 
different  ways.  If,  for  instance,  there  is  a  nut  walk 
for  shade  or  any  kind  of  alley  made  by  deciduous 
trees,  there  may  be  Bluebells  or  Solomon's  Seal,  or 
any  other  suitable  flowers,  planted  naturally  under 
the  trees.  There  will  be  no  incongruity  in  them  merely 
because  the  trees  are  regularly  arranged. 

When  there  is  a  straight  path  leading  to  a  summer- 
house  it  will  be  natural  to  have  a  border  on  each  side 
of  it,  since  it  is  one  of  the  pleasures  of  a  garden  to 
walk  between  flowers.  According  to  the  principles 
of  naturalistic  gardening,  summer-houses  were  de- 
signed to  be  homes  for  earwigs  rather  than  for  human 
beings,  and,  considering  their  ugliness  and  incon- 
venience, it  was  only  right  that  they  should  be  hidden 
away,  as  they  usually  were,  where  no  one  could  see 
them.  But  if  a  garden  is  to  contain  a  summer-house 


THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN    153 

at  all,  that  summer-house  should  surely  be  both  use- 
ful and  beautiful,  and  should  be  placed  where  its  use 
and  beauty  will  be  greatest.  There  is  something 
prosaic  and  superfluous  about  a  summer-house  close 
to  a  house.  It  should,  if  possible,  be  at  the  other  end 
of  the  garden  and  where  it  will  command  a  good  view 
of  the  garden.  Then  the  path  connecting  it  with  the 
house  will  be  one  of  the  main  features  of  the  design. 
Perhaps  there  may  be  a  border  on  each  side  of  this 
path  for  its  whole  distance,  so  that  there  shall  be  a 
vista  of  flowers  all  the  way  from  the  drawing-room 
window  to  the  summer-house.  The  summer-house 
itself,  also,  should  have  its  front,  at  least,  thickset 
with  flowers,  just  as  there  should  be  flowers  close 
round  the  house.  It  is  a  common  defect  of  purely 
horticultural  and  naturalistic  gardens  that  flowers 
are  seldom  placed  in  them  where  they  can  be  most 
easily  enjoyed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  house.  Flowers 
shoulcfc  be  concentrated,  if  possible,  where  they  can  be 
seen  and  smelt  from  the  drawing-room  windows,  and 
in  places  arranged  for  the  comfort  of  human  beings. 
Sunk  Dutch  gardens  are  such  places;  and  their  formal- 
ity is  the  result,  not  of  mere  fashion,  but  of  the  desire 
to  make  a  pleasant  outdoor  home  both  for  flowers 
and  for  human  beings  who  wish  to  enjoy  them.  Their 
clipped  yew  hedges  give  shelter  to  both,  and  the  fact 
that  they  sink  in  regular  stages  ensures  different  con- 
ditions to  suit  different  plants.  It  provides  sharp 
drainage  above  and  moisture  below.  In  fact  a  sunk 
Dutch  garden  is  only  a  kind  of  formalized  sunk  rockery; 


154  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

and  it  is  formalized  because  it  considers  human  beings 
as  well  as  plants.  A  great  many  rock  plants  may  be 
grown  in  it  so  that  their  beauty  will  show  to  the  great- 
est advantage.  In  fact,  now  that  we  have  so  many 
rock  plants,  unknown  to  our  ancestors  or  neglected 
by  them,  Dutch  gardens  may  be  made  more  beau- 
tiful than  ever  before,  with  sheets  of  Lithospermum 
prostratum  interspersed  with  Arenaria  montana,  with 
contrasts  of  Silene  alpestris  and  Campanula  muralis 
or  of  Veronica  prostrata  and  the  yellow  Helianthemum. 
All  these  will  harmonize  with  the  blind  bow-boy  or 
the  dancing  fountain  just  as  well  as  the  customary 
duller  plants;  and  their  flowers  will  shine  as  much 
against  smooth  masonry  as  against  rough-hewn  rocks. 
A  Dutch  garden  is  intended  for  the  display  of  flowers 
in  detail,  and  no  better  place  has  ever  been  contrived 
for  that  purpose. 

There  is  one  great  advantage  which  the  modern 
designer  has  over  his  predecessors,  and  that  is  in  the 
use  which  he  can  make  of  steep  banks  and  slopes. 
These,  since  they  are  obviously  inconvenient  resting- 
places  for  human  beings,  should  be  treated  by  the 
designer  as  spaces  to  be  decorated.  The  older  de- 
signers, apparently,  despaired  of  decorating  them 
with  flowers,  and  therefore  built  them  up,  when  they 
had  the  money,  with  walls  —  a  very  costly  process. 
The  naturalists  usually  covered  them  with  turf  or 
with  the  few  varieties  of  shrubs,  usually  ugly  and 
uninteresting,  that  would  thrive  on  them.  But  now, 
luckily,  we  know  of  many  beautiful  flowers  that  will 


THE  THEORY  OF  GARDEN  DESIGN    155 

thrive  on  them;  and  therefore  it  is  only  right  and 
natural  to  cover  them  with  such  flowers,  using  rocks 
where  they  are  needed,  to  protect  the  plants  from 
drought  and  to  prevent  the  soil  from  washing  away. 
The  rock  garden  is  always  a  difficult  problem  in  gar- 
deij  design,  and  many  people  who  cannot  do  without 
the  beauty  of  Alpine  flowers  make  no  attempt  to 
solve  it.  They  place  their  rock  garden  in  any  place 
horticulturally  convenient  without  considering  whether 
it  has  any  congruity  with  the  rest  of  their  design. 
In  some  cases  this  cannot  be  helped.  If  your  garden 
is  all  flat,  and  if  you  must  have  a  rock  garden,  no 
art  will  make  it  agree  with  formal  surroundings.  But 
if  there  are  any  steep  slopes  in  your  garden,  some 
wildness  in  the  planting  of  them  will  appear  natural 
even  if  everything  else  is  formal;  and,  even  if  they 
seem  suitable  to  the  growth  only  of  the  easier  rock 
plants,  they  can  usually  by  a  little  contrivance  be 
arranged  so  as  to  provide  homes  for  the  more  delicate 
Alpines.  Yet  this  obvious  use  of  natural  slopes  is 
often  neglected  where  there  are  rock  gardens  placed 
in  the  most  unnatural  and  incongruous  positions. 
Garden  designers,  in  spite  of  the  naturalistic  move- 
ment, are  still  unwilling  to  take  the  line  of  least  re- 
sistance, and  would  rather  do  violence  to  nature, 
even  when  professing  to  imitate  her,  than  adapt  her 
to  their  own  purposes  and  coax  her  into  the  service 
of  man. 


SOME    DETAILS    OF    SUMMER    GARDENING 

AT  the  end  of  June  the  garden  is  in  its  prime, 
and  the  gardener  is  supposed  to  enjoy  the  fruit 
of  his  labours.  Yet  there  is  plenty  for  him  to  do  if 
he  cares  to  do  it,  and  he  can  find  for  himself  a  hun- 
dred little  tasks  besides  weeding  and  watering,  the 
performance  of  which  will  make  all  the  difference  to 
the  future  beauty  and  even  well-being  of  his  plants. 
This  is  the  time,  for  instance,  for  attending  to  spring 
flowers  that  have  now  gone  out  of  bloom.  The  gar- 
dener should  seize  the  opportunity  of  wet  weather  to  di- 
vide all  spring  flowering  plants  which  need  dividing,  for 
it  is  much  better  to  do  this  now  when  the  plants  have 
the  whole  summer  to  recover  in  than  in  the  autumn, 
when  they  have  no  time  to  make  new  growth.  There 
are  a  great  many  Primulas,  such  as  P.  denticulata, 
P.  rosea,  P.  Sikkimensis,  P.  Japonica,  and  even  Prim- 
roses and  Polyanthuses,  which  deteriorate  quickly 
unless  they  are  divided  when  their  crowns  begin  to 
multiply;  and  it  is  only  safe  to  divide  the  more  deli- 
cate of  these  soon  after  they  have  flowered.  Auric- 
ulas, too,  and  many  kinds  of  Alpine  Primulas  are  the 
better  for  occasional  division  and  replanting,  and 
this  is  the  time  to  do  it,  provided  they  can  be  pro- 
tected from  drought  afterwards.  This  applies  also 

to   many   spring-flowering   plants   which   flower   best 

156 


DETAILS  OF  SUMMER  GARDENING    157 

from  a  single  crown,  as,  for  instance,  to  the  double 
Daisies,  which  need  to  be  divided  and  replanted  every 
year,  especially  in  light  soils,  if  they  are  not  to  de- 
teriorate quickly,  and  to  the  delicate  little  Morisia 
hypogsea,  one  of  the  best  early-flowering  plants  for 
the  rock  garden,  and  one  which  many  gardeners  com- 
plain that  they  cannot  keep  long  in  health.  The 
reason  usually  is  that  they  are  afraid  to  disturb  it, 
since  it  is  a  deep-rooting  plant.  They  therefore  allow 
it  to  form  a  number  of  crowns,  which  it  does  very 
quickly,  and  which  crowd  each  other  in  a  narrow  in- 
terstice between  the  rocks,  with  the  result  that  it 
grows  feebler  every  year.  It  should  be  taken  up  as 
soon  as  it  has  gone  out  of  flower,  and  after  all  the 
crowns  have  been  carefully  divided  they  should  be 
planted  separately  in  cool  places  between  the  rocks 
and  in  fresh  deep  compost  of  loam  and  leaf  mould. 
There  are  many  spring  flowering  plants  which  need 
the  same  treatment  especially  in  light  or  poor  soil, 
and  the  gardener  can  usually  discover  which  they 
are  by  observation.  When  he  sees  that  a  plant  breaks 
up  into  a  number  of  crowns  after  a  year  or  two  and 
begins  to  flower  poorly,  then  he  may  be  pretty  sure 
that  the  only  possible  remedy  for  its  deterioration  is 
division.  Division,  of  course,  may  kill  the  plant, 
but  it  is  always  worth  trying  when  the  only  alter- 
native is  deterioration.  Aquilegia  glandulosa  and  its 
beautiful  hybrid  A.  Stuartii  are  plants  which  often 
die  out  or  cease  to  flower  after  a  year  or  two  in  the 
south  of  England,  and  the  only  remedy  for  this  is 


158  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

careful  division  as  soon  as  they  have  gone  out  of 
flower.  By  this  means  they  may  often  be  perpetuated 
and  a  good  stock  of  plants  may  be  obtained;  but 
division  or  any  kind  of  disturbance  in  the  autumn 
usually  results  in  their  death.  It  may  seem  strange 
that  plants  should  need  such  artificial  means  to  keep 
them  in  health  in  gardens,  when  they  flourish  in  a  state 
of  nature  without  any  help  except  from  nature;  but 
it  must  be  remembered  that  they  grow  wild  only  in 
conditions  naturally  most  favourable  to  them,  and 
that  many  of  them  have  very  short  lives  and  never 
reach  that  perfection  which  we  demand  of  them  in 
gardens.  Nature's  chief  object  is  that  they  should 
reproduce  themselves,  and,  provided  they  do  this, 
she  is  careless  what  becomes  of  them  afterwards. 
But  in  the  garden  we  do  not  always  wish  them  to  re- 
produce themselves.  We  may  have  enough  of  a  par- 
ticular plant,  or  we  may  have  a  particular  variety 
which  will  not  come  true  from  seed,  and  we  may  there- 
fore wish  it  to  spend  its  energy  in  making  new  growth 
rather  than  in  ripening  seed.  The  ripening  of  seed 
is  the  most  exhausting  process  that  a  plant  undergoes, 
and  there  are  many  plants  that  kill  or  permanently 
weaken  themselves  by  profuse  seed-bearing.  Such 
plants  may  often  be  saved  from  death  by  the  removal 
of  their  flowers  as  soon  as  they  wither;  and  even  true 
perennials  are  often  much  benefited  by  such  removal. 
There  are  a  great  many  evergreen  plants  that  soon 
grow  straggling  and  unkempt  if  they  are  never  cut 
back,  and  the  time  to  cut  them  back  is  when  they 


DETAILS  OF  SUMMER  GARDENING    159 

have  just  gone  out  of  flower,  so  that  they  may  be 
freed  from  the  strain  of  seed-bearing.  If  this  is  done, 
they  will  usually  soon  make  a  vigorous  new  growth 
and  look  fresh  and  green  again  by  early  autumn; 
some  of  them,  too,  will  flower  a  second  time.  Among 
such  plants  are  Aubrietia,  Saponaria  ocymoides, 
Veronica  prostrata,  the  Helianthemums,  many  kinds 
of  pinks,  the  smaller  Achilleas,  Alyssum  saxatile,  the 
Cerastiums,  the  Creeping  Phloxes,  and  Iberis  sem- 
pervirens  and  its  varieties.  Cutting  back  is  not  neces- 
sary for  any  of  these  plants,  as  they  are  all  fairly  vigor- 
ous perennials;  but  they  are  greatly  improved  in 
vigour  and  appearance  by  it,  and  some  of  them,  such 
as  the  Helianthemums,  will  live  much  longer  for  it. 
Pansies  and  Violas,  too,  are  the  better  for  cutting 
back  as  soon  as  they  grow  leggy.  If  they  do  not 
suffer  from  drought  after  the  operation  they  will  soon 
make  vigorous  new  growth,  which  will  prolong  the 
life  of  the  pansies;  and,  in  the  case  of  the  Violas,  will 
provide  an  abundance  of  cuttings. 

But  there  are  no  plants  that  benefit  more  by  cut- 
ting back  than  profuse  flowering  shrubs,  and  many  of 
them  often  suffer  much  in  our  gardens  from  the  want 
of  it.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  shrubs  which 
are  not  very  hardy,  such  as  the  Cistuses.  These  will 
often  survive  a  hard  winter  if  they  are  cut  back  as 
soon  as  they  have  flowered  and  never  allowed  to  grow 
straggly.  The  cutting  back  not  only  saves  them  from 
the  exhaustion  of  bearing  seed,  but  also  seems  to  con- 
centrate their  vigour.  There  are  many  shrubs,  too, 


160  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

like  most  of  the  brooms,  that  are  not  very  long-lived 
by  nature,  but  live  much  longer  if  they  are  cut  back 
after  flowering.  Cutting  back  is  particularly  useful 
in  a  poor  soil,  when  shrubs  are  always  apt  to  get 
straggly,  especially  if  it  is  accompanied  by  a  mulching 
of  manure  or  leaf-mould  to  encourage  new  growth. 
When  a  shrub  seems  to  be  doing  badly,  it  will  often 
take  a  new  turn  if  it  is  cut  back  and  mulched  in  early 
summer,  and  this  is  particularly  the  case  with  Rhodo- 
dendrons and  Azaleas.  If  they  are  cut  back  at  all 
hard  they  will  probably  not  flower  the  next  year, 
but  they  may  be  transformed  into  sturdy  compact 
plants,  and  one  year's  blossom  is  a  small  price  to  pay 
for  that.  Roses,  too,  especially  in  a  light  soil,  may 
often  be  much  benefited  if  they  are  cut  back  after 
their  first  flush  of  bloom,  but  the  gardener  must  not 
hack  at  his  Roses,  or,  indeed,  at  any  shrubs  or  plants, 
blindly.  He  must  always  be  quite  clear  in  his  mind 
before  he  does  anything  as  to  the  reason  why  he  pro- 
poses to  do  it.  His  object  in  trimming  a  shrub  may 
be  merely  to  prevent  it  from  seeding,  in  which  case 
he  will  only  cut  away  all  the  heads  of  the  flowers. 
Or  it  may  be  also  to  promote  a  vigorous  new  growth 
by  the  removal  of  shoots  which  have  done  the  duty 
for  the  year  by  bearing  flowers,  in  which  case  he  will 
cut  away  not  only  the  flower  heads,  but  also  the  shoots 
which  bear  them,  so  far  as  they  seem  to  be  exhausted 
by  the  process.  Or  he  may  wish  to  thin  a  shrub  that 
is  getting  crowded  by  the  removal  of  the  older  and 
weaker  wood.  The  first  of  these  operations  may  be 


DETAILS  OF  SUMMER  GARDENING    161 

performed  on  all  roses  after  their  early  summer  bloom; 
the  second  on  roses,  such  as  the  dwarf  polyanthus, 
which  throw  up  shoots  bearing  crowded  heads  of 
bloom;  the  third  on  the  many  roses  that  flower  only 
once  in  the  summer.  These  roses  should  not  be  pruned 
at  all  except  when  they  are  first  planted,  or  if  they 
seem  not  to  be  thriving;  but  all  roses  that  are  not 
pruned  at  all,  or  are  pruned  but  little,  need  to  have 
their  older  wood  cut  away  at  intervals.  Those  who 
grow  roses  as  flowering  shrubs  and  not  as  mere  flower- 
producing  machines  will  naturally  prune  them  as  little 
as  possible,  since  a  rose  that  is  cut  hard  back  every 
spring  will  never  have  time  to  grow  into  a  shapely 
plant,  unless  it  is  a  very  vigorous  variety  in  a  very 
rich  soil.  Luckily,  most  roses  will  flower  well  enough 
for  garden  purposes  without  very  severe  pruning. 
But  when  roses  are  little  pruned  there  is  the  more 
need  to  trim  and  to  thin  them,  and  judicious  trim- 
ming and  thinning,  done  not  only  in  the  spring  or  au- 
tumn, but  also  after  their  first  flush  of  bloom,  is  one 
of  the  chief  secrets  of  success  with  them  and  with 
many  other  flowering  shrubs.  There  is  no  routine 
about  such  trimming  and  thinning.  In  each  case  the 
gardener  must  exercise  his  common  sense  and  be 
guided  by  observation  and  experiment.  It  is  always 
safe  to  cut  out  old  wood  that  seems  to  have  lost  its 
vitality,  or  even  younger  shoots  that  seem  exhausted 
by  an  excess  of  blossom.  But  some  roses  throw  up 
new  growth  much  quicker  than  others;  and  some 
throw  up  shoots  bearing  only  masses  of  bloom  which, 


162  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

as  soon  as  the  bloom  is  over,  seem  to  have  fulfilled 
their  use.  Such  shoots  may  be  treated  like  the  flower- 
ing shoots  of  herbaceous  plants  and  cut  down  as  soon 
as  their  flowers  are  all  withered,  to  encourage  the  pro- 
duction of  new  flowering  shoots.  Other  roses  make 
new  wood  more  slowly  and  their  wood  is  more  en- 
during, bearing  several  crops  of  blossom  in  the  same 
year,  or  year  after  year.  But  in  nearly  all  roses  the 
wood  deteriorates  in  time  and  should  be  cut  away  to 
encourage  new  growth;  and  this  operation  is  best 
done  after  the  blossom  is  over. 

There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  about  the  cut- 
ting back  of  herbaceous  plants  and  the  extent  to  which 
it  should  be  carried.  No  one,  of  course,  would  cut  a 
shrub  back  hard  except  in  the  early  spring  or  late 
autumn,  since  the  spring  is  the  time  at  which  it  makes 
its  new  growth,  and  if  it  is  cut  back  hard  in  the  sum- 
mer it  may  make  no  new  growth  and  suffer  for  want 
of  leaves  to  absorb  food  from  the  air.  Whatever 
cutting  back  is  done  in  the  summer  must  leave  enough 
growth  to  perform  this  function.  This  precaution 
must  also  be  taken  to  some  extent  with  herbaceous 
plants.  But  most  of  them  throw  up  new  growth  much 
more  quickly  than  most  shrubs;  some,  indeed,  such 
as  Oriental  Poppies,  throw  it  up  so  quickly  that  they 
suffer  very  little  if  they  are  cut  back  very  hard  after 
flowering.  Others,  however,  are  slower  in  growing 
afresh  and  are  weakened  if  they  are  cut  down  to  the 
ground,  especially  if  all  their  growth  has  been  thrown 
into  flowering  stems,  so  that  few  or  no  leaves  remain 


DETAILS  OF  SUMMER  GARDENING    163 

when  these  are  removed.  Such  plants  as,  for  instance, 
Larkspurs  should  only  be  cut  down  to  within  about  a 
foot  of  the  ground,  so  as  to  leave  them  with  some 
leafage  to  absorb  food  from  the  air,  just  as  bulbous 
plants  ought  not  to  be  cut  down  until  the  bulbs  are 
matured  for  the  next  year.  Many  herbaceous  plants, 
if  they  are  thus  carefully  cut  down,  will  throw  up 
new  shoots  and  flower  again  in  the  autumn,  since  the 
cutting  down  relieves  them  of  the  strain  of  seed  bear- 
ing. But  this  second  bloom  puts  a  yet  greater  strain 
on  them,  and  they  must  be  well  fed  if  they  are  not 
to  suffer  from  it.  It  is,  therefore,  a  good  plan  to  give 
a  mulch  of  some  rich  material,  such  as  manure  or 
vegetable  matter,  to  all  plants  of  which  a  second  crop 
of  bloom  is  expected  after  the  first  crop  of  bloom  is 
over.  Such  a  mulch  will  also  protect  them  from 
drought  through  July  and  August.  Mulches,  espe- 
cially of  manure,  are  often  applied  at  the  wrong  time. 
Thus  in  a  light  soil  all  the  nourishment  of  a  mulch 
applied  in  autumn  often  drains  away  before  it  can 
benefit  the  plants;  while  a  mulch  of  manure  applied 
in  early  spring,  especially  on  heavy  soils,  often  does 
more  harm  than  good  if  the  weather  is  cold  and  damp, 
since  it  holds  the  moisture  and  cripples  the  young 
spring  growth  of  the  plants,  and  also  harbours  slugs 
and  snails.  The  best  time  for  a  mulch,  therefore,  is 
when  the  plants  most  need  immediate  nourishment 
and  protection  from  drought  —  that  is  to  say,  in 
the  height  of  summer  and  during  or  just  after  their 
blooming  time.  Such  a  mulch,  especially  on  light 


164  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

soils,  is  better  than  liquid  manure,  since  it  gives  pro- 
tection from  drought  as  well  as  nourishment;  and, 
if  it  consists  of  spent  manure  from  a  hotbed,  it  will 
not  be  disagreeable  either  to  the  nose  or  to  the  eyes. 


THE  RIGHT  USE  OF  ANNUALS 

ANNUALS  are  always  apt  to  be  a  difficulty  in 
the  garden,  especially  for  those  who  attempt 
to  solve  the  real  problems  of  gardening.  Many  of 
them,  such  as  Nemophila,  Shirley  Poppies,  and  Love- 
in-a-Mist,  are  so  beautiful  that  one  cannot  do  with- 
out them;  yet  they  flower  but  a  short  time,  occupy 
a  good  deal  of  space,  and  leave  an  unsightly  blank 
when  they  cease  to  flower.  They  are  not  like  some 
perennial  plants,  such  as  the  Pinks,  which  are  beau- 
tiful even  after  their  short  flowering  season  is  over. 
They  have  their  little  period  of  beauty,  and  then  they 
give  themselves  up  to  business,  the  business  of  seed- 
ing. They  seem  to  know  that  their  lives  must  be 
short,  and,  therefore,  to  be  utterly  taken  up  with 
the  task  of  the  moment.  When  the  time  comes  for 
them  to  think  of  posterity,  they  think  of  nothing  else. 
They  are  like  poor  young  mothers  who  grow  haggard 
quickly  in  the  nursery;  and  in  the  garden  one  has 
no  room  for  haggard  things.  One  does  not  wish  to 
be  reminded  of  autumn  and  the  shadow  of  death  in 
full  summer,  and  therefore  one  is  inclined  to  clear 
annuals  away  as  soon  as  they  go  out  of  flower.  But 
if  a  great  bed  of  Poppies  is  rooted  up  in  August,  what 
is  to  take  their  place?  Blank  spaces  at  that  time  of 
year  are  a  reproach  to  the  gardener,  a  proof  that  he 

165 


166  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

has  failed  in  the  chief  problem  of  his  craft.  They  do 
not  matter  so  much  in  a  very  large  garden,  where  you 
can  have  a  series  of  displays  for  different  seasons  of 
the  year;  but  in  a  small  one,  where  they  cannot  be 
ignored,  they  matter  a  great  deal.  In  a  small  garden 
the  problem  of  annuals  may  well  seem  insoluble,  and, 
indeed,  it  is  insoluble  if  they  are  grown  in  the  ordinary 
way.  The  great  mistake  which  most  people  make 
with  annuals  is  that  they  treat  them  too  seriously, 
as  seriously  as  Roses  or  Carnations,  or  any  of  the  main 
and  permanent  ornaments  of  a  garden.  There  has 
lately  appeared  an  excellent  book  upon  the  culture 
of  annuals;  indeed,  one  of  the  best  gardening  books 
of  our  time.1  The  author  of  it,  Mr.  C.  M.  A.  Peake, 
has  obviously  a  great  knowledge  of  his  subject,  which 
he  imparts  very  clearly  and  concisely.  There  is  no 
fault  whatever  to  be  found  with  his  book  except  that 
he  takes  annuals  too  seriously.  True,  in  his  preface 
he  says  that  the  main  use  of  annuals,  at  least  of  hardy 
annuals,  is  to  fill  a  garden  quickly  with  bloom,  where 
for  some  reason  or  other  the  gardener  cannot  wait 
for  the  slower  glories  of  perennials;  and  in  such  a 
case,  no  doubt,  it  is  right  to  take  annuals  very  seriously. 
But  there  are  some  annuals  that  one  cannot  do  without 
even  in  permanent  gardens,  and  yet  few  can  give 
them  either  the  space  or  the  labour  which  would 
be  necessary  on  Mr.  Peake's  system  of  cultivation. 
He  advises  that  a  bed  be  prepared  by  deep  digging 

1  '*  A  Concise  Handbook  of  Garden  Annual  and  Biennial  Plants."     By 
C.  M.  A.  Peake. 


THE  RIGHT  USE  OF  ANNUALS        167 

and  manuring  in  autumn,  that  if  the  soil  is  sour  it 
be  dug  out  to  a  depth  of  3  ft.,  and  that  a  6  in.  layer 
of  stones  be  put  in  for  drainage,  with  better  soil  to 
fill  up,  and  so  on.  Now,  all  his  advice  is  very  good, 
and,-  if  it  is  followed,  the  result,  no  doubt,  will  be 
very  fine  flowers.  But  there  are  few  gardeners  who 
will  be  ready  to  take  all  these  pains  over  annuals. 
If  they  prepare  a  bed  thus  elaborately,  they  will  look 
for  some  permanent  reward  for  their  preparations. 
And  yet  Mr.  Peake  is  right  when  he  says  that  an- 
nuals need  kind  treatment,  and  that  without  it  many 
of  them  are  not  worth  growing.  The  problem,  there- 
fore, is  to  give  them  kind  treatment  and  yet  not  to 
waste  all  that  treatment  upon  a  display  of  a  few  weeks 
in  the  summer;  and  this  problem  is  not  insoluble. 

To  solve  it  we  should  observe  the  manner  in  which 
annuals  grow  naturally.  Nature  does  not  sow  them 
in  spring  and  in  masses  all  by  themselves.  Their  seed 
falls  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe,  in  summer  or  autumn,  and  it 
is  scattered  about  among  other  and  perennial  plants. 
Now  we  must  not  attempt  to  imitate  the  recklessness 
and  uncalculating  profusion  of  nature  in  our  garden- 
ing; we  must  not,  like  her,  sow  seed  in  stony  places 
or  where  thorns  will  spring  up  and  choke  it;  our  an- 
nuals should  be  sown,  as  all  our  plants  should  be 
planted,  in  borders  properly  prepared,  so  that  we 
may  have  as  little  waste  and  failure  as  possible.  But 
the  gardener's  business  is  to  imitate  the  successes  of 
nature  as  well  as  to  avoid  her  failures.  There  is  no 
reason  whatever  why,  with  a  little  calculation  and 


168  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

contrivance,  we  should  not  grow  our  annuals  among 
other  plants  as  nature  grows  them,  why  they  should 
not  fill  up  blank  spaces  just  when  they  are  needed, 
and  why  they  should  not  be  overgrown  as  soon  as 
their  flowering  time  is  over.  It  is  true  that  by  grow- 
ing them  on  this  plan  we  cannot  have  the  great  masses 
of  one  single  kind  of  flower  which  the  present  taste 
approves.  But  the  present  taste  is  a  little  too  timid 
about  mixtures  and  contrasts  of  colour.  Few  of  those 
who  advise  upon  the  colour  arrangement  of  flowers 
seem  to  be  aware  that  nearly  all  colours  go  well  to- 
gether in  a  garden,  if  only  they  are  thoroughly  mixed 
up.  It  is  the  half-hearted  contrasts,  where  only  two 
or  three  colours  are  employed,  and  those  the  wrong 
ones,  that  are  really  ugly.  The  Orientals  know  more 
about  colour  than  we  do,  and  in  their  colouring  they 
imitate  the  audacity  and  profusion  of  nature.  It  is 
true,  also,  that  if  we  mix  up  annuals  with  other  plants, 
some  of  the  annuals  will  probably  be  smothered. 
But  this  cannot  be  helped.  Annuals  are  cheap,  and 
the  gardeners  who  take  them  most  seriously  thin 
them  out  most  relentlessly.  If  we  can  leave  it  to 
nature  to  do  the  thinning,  so  much  the  better. 

Now  nature  will  do  the  thinning  for  us  thoroughly 
enough,  sometimes  too  thoroughly,  if  we  sow  our 
annuals  as  she  does,  in  the  late  summer  or  autumn. 
There  is  always  a  risk  in  doing  this  —  a  risk  so  great 
as  to  be  scarcely  worth  running  on  very  heavy  soils. 
But  on  fairly  light  ones  it  is  worth  taking,  since  an- 
nuals are  cheap.  Gardeners  are  curiously  timorous 


THE  RIGHT  USE  OF  ANNUALS        169 

about  sowing  in  the  autumn,  and  it  is  commonly  sup- 
posed that  only  a  few  kinds  will  survive  the  winter 
if  this  is  done.  Yet  the  present  writer  has  found  that 
even  Phacelia  campanularia,  commonly  supposed  to 
be  a  rather  delicate  annual,  will  often  live  through 
the  winter,  if  it  is  sown  early  enough,  on  a  fairly  light 
soil  and  in  a  light  place.  Indeed,  it  will  flourish  in 
a  garden  year  after  year  from  self-sown  seedlings; 
and  so  will  Love-in-a-Mist  and  Collomia  coccinea, 
an  excellent  and  little  known  annual,  and  Linaria 
Maroccana,  to  say  nothing  of  Nemophila  and  Bar- 
tonia  aurea,  and  Eschscholtzia  and  Cornflowers,  and 
other  annuals  which  are  often  left  to  seed  themselves 
in  our  gardens. 

It  is  always  risky,  however,  to  trust  to  self-sown 
seedlings.  They  may  not  come  up  when  you  want 
them,  and  you  do  not  know  where  they  are  until 
they  germinate.  Yet  many  people  who  observe  that 
self-sown  seedlings  always  do  better  than  seed  which 
they  have  sown  will  not  make  the  obvious  deduction 
from  that  fact.  They  think  that  there  is  some  mys- 
tery in  the  process  of  natural  sowing;  whereas  the 
fact  is  merely  that  nature  sows  at  the  right  season, 
and  that  her  seedlings,  thinned  out  by  her  winter 
severities,  have  time  to  grow  strong  and  root  deeply 
before  the  summer  heats. 

It  is  worth  while,  therefore,  to  experiment  largely 
with  autumn  or  late  summer  sowing,  especially  on 
light  soils,  since  the  experiments  will  be  cheap  in  any 
case,  and  failures  can  be  easily  remedied  in  the  spring. 


170  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

There  are  some  annuals,  such  as  Nemophila,  which 
become  spring  flowers  of  the  greatest  value  if  they 
are  sown  in  autumn.1  There  are  others,  such  as  Corn- 
flowers, Sweet  Sultan,  Eschscholtzia,  Poppies,  and 
the  annual  Saponarias  and  Silenes,  which  very  sel- 
dom do  so  well  from  a  spring  as  from  an  autumn  sow- 
ing. But  the  sowing  must  not  be  too  late.  The  plants 
must  have  time  to  get  some  strength  before  the  winter 
comes,  and,  therefore,  most  of  them  should  be  sown 
in  September  as  early  as  possible.  It  is,  of  course, 
but  little  use  to  sow  them  when  the  weather  is  hot 
and  dry,  unless  they  can  be  thoroughly  and  frequently 
watered.  Therefore,  when  there  is  a  September 
drought,  it  is  best  to  wait  until  it  breaks  up.  Then 
sow  annuals,  not  in  great  masses  where  they  will  leave 
a  blank  space  when  they  die,  but  in  any  vacant  patch 
in  the  border,  and  particularly  in  places  occupied 
by  dormant  bulbs,  such  as  Tulips,  Daffodils,  Spanish 
and  English  Irises.  The  lower  growing  annuals  will 
do  no  harm  to  these,  and,  if  the  bulbs  in  their  spring 
growth  overshadow  them  a  little,  it  will  not  matter 
much.  Then,  again,  those  annuals  which  are  best 
sown  in  spring,  such  as  Nasturtiums,  can  also  be  sown 
among  bulbs,  and  the  bulbs  will  often  give  them  pro- 
tection from  late  frosts,  while  afterwards  their  flowers 


1  Autumn  sowing  of  annuals  is  not  generally  to  be  advised  in  the  United 
States.  In  an  interesting  experiment,  however,  near  Chicago  in  the  spring 
of  1916,  seeds  of  the  following  autumn-planted  annuals  were  highly  suc- 
cessful; Delphinium,  Hunnemannia  fumarisefolia,  Calendula,  Calliopsis 
Drummondi,  Antirrhinum,  Brachycome  iberidifolia,  Candytuft,  Erysimum 
Perofskianum.  L.  Y.  K. 


THE  RIGHT  USE  OF  ANNUALS        171 

will  take  the  place  of  those  of  the  bulbs.  Or  these 
spring-sown  annuals  may  be  placed  among  autumn 
Crocuses  if  the  Crocuses  are  not  too  thickly  planted, 
and  then  their  season  will  be  over  and  they  can  be 
cleared  away  just  when  the  Crocuses  begin  to  throw 
up  their  bloom.  When  annuals,  such  as  Nemophila, 
Silene,  and  Saponaria,  are  sown  so  as  to  flower  in 
spring,  their  places  can  be  taken  in  turn  by  the  more 
delicate  half-hardy  annuals  or  bedding  plants  that  are 
put  out  at  the  beginning  of  June.  It  seems  to  the 
present  writer  that  these  half-hardy  things  are  often 
unjustly  decried,  because  they  are  nearly  always  mis- 
used. The  common  practice  is  to  plant  them  in  masses, 
so  that  large  spaces  of  the  garden  have  to  undergo  vio- 
lent changes  and  the  ugliness  that  must  result  from 
such  changes,  often  when  the  garden  ought  to  be  in 
its  prime.  The  real  use  of  half-hardy  things,  whether 
perennials  or  annuals,  is  to  fill  up  blank  spaces  in  the 
border,  caused  by  the  dying  down  of  spring  bulbs  or  by 
any  mischance.  There  is  no  reason  whatever  why  you 
should  always  plant  fifty  Cannas,  or  ivy-leaved  Gera- 
niums, or  Tobacco  plants,  where  you  plant  one,  or  why 
one  part  of  the  garden  should  be  filled  only  with  hardy 
and  another  with  half-hardy  plants.  There  is  no  neces- 
sary incongruity  between  plants  that  are  hardy  and 
plants  that  are  tender.  It  is  merely  convention  that 
keeps  them  apart,  as  we  may  see  from  the  Dahlia  and 
the  Gladiolus,  which  are  half-hardy  plants  usually 
treated  in  a  rational  way  and  placed  among  hardy 
plants  in  the  border.  If  we  treat  other  half-hardy 


172  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

plants  thus,  especially  the  best  half-hardy  annuals, 
we  shall  find  them  most  useful,  and  we  shall  avoid 
the  awkward  intervals  of  ugliness  inevitable  with  the 
ordinary  bedding  system.  There  are  gardeners  who 
have  a  nervous  fear  of  growing  anything  near  their 
Roses,  even  if  they  do  not  grow  Roses  for  show.  There- 
fore, they  keep  the  soil  about  their  Roses  bare,  with 
the  consequence  that  their  Rose  beds  look  ugly  for 
most  of  the  year.  But  Rose  beds  can  be  covered  with 
low-growing  plants  without  injury  to  the  Roses,  if 
the  soil  is  well  fed;  and  annuals,  especially  half-hardy 
annuals,  are  particularly  suited  to  this  purpose,  because 
the  soil  can  be  thoroughly  enriched  before  they  are 
planted  out  and  after  they  are  removed,  and  also  be- 
cause their  roots  usually  have  not  time  to  grow  deep 
and  thick  and  to  impoverish  the  ground  seriously. 
Half-hardy  annuals  can  be  combined  with  spring  bulbs, 
such  as  Tulips,  and  in  such  a  case  bedding,  both 
spring  and  summer,  has  a  very  good  reason  for  its  ex- 
istence. But  annuals  bedded  out  in  this  way  must  not 
be  too  tall  or  strong-growing,  lest  they  keep  light  and 
air  from  the  Roses.  Excellent  ones  for  the  purpose, 
both  because  they  are  low-growing  and  because  their 
colours  can  usually  be  arranged  to  harmonize  with 
those  of  the  Roses,  are  Ageratum,  Dianthus  Heddewigii, 
Nemesia  in  pink  and  white  shades,  Phlox  Drummondii, 
and  Verbena.  No  doubt  the  gardener  who  shows  his 
Roses  is  right  to  grow  nothing  else  near  them;  he  re- 
gards the  Rose,  not  as  a  beautiful  flowering  shrub,  but 
as  a  flower  producing  machine.  Those  for  whom  the 


THE  RIGHT  USE  OF  ANNUALS        173 

Rose  is  the  chief  of  our  flowering  shrubs  should  grow 
it  in  beautiful  surroundings,  and  they  can  do  this  only 
if  they  cover  the  ground  about  it  with  other  beautiful 
plants. 

We  have  given  a  few  suggestions  for  the  use  and 
treatment  of  annuals,  and  they  are  all  based  upon  the 
idea  that  the  annual  should  be  employed  as  a  stop- 
gap, not  as  a  main  feature  of  the  garden.  Since  it 
is  a  transitory  thing,  it  should  not  be  treated  as  if  it 
were  permanent.  It  has  its  peculiar  advantages,  and 
it  should  be  employed  so  as  to  make  the  most  of  these, 
and  also  so  as  to  make  the  least  of  its  peculiar  disad- 
vantages. It  is  quick  to  come  and  also  quick  to  go. 
Therefore,  use  it  for  emergencies.  It  takes  some  skill 
and  experience  to  do  this  cleverly,  but  the  gardener 
who  can  learn  how  to  do  it  will  add  a  new  pleasure  to 
gardening  and  a  new  beauty  to  his  garden. 


LATE  SUMMER  AND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ROCK 
GARDEN 

MOST  mountain  plants  flower  in  spring  and  early 
summer.  In  the  higher  altitudes,  of  course, 
they  begin  late,  as  "the  spring  comes  slowly  up  that 
way,"  and  last  well  into  August.  But  our  rock  gar- 
dens are  not  in  the  higher  altitudes,  and  Alpine  plants 
in  them  usually  flower  earlier  than  in  their  native 
homes.  A  rock  garden  may  have  many  flowers  in 
March,  and  its  greatest  profusion  of  bloom  will  prob- 
ably come  about  the  middle  of  June  with  the  flower- 
ing of  the  Pinks.  Then  a  decline  will  set  in,  gradual 
at  first,  but  rapid  in  July;  and  in  August  many  rock 
gardens  contain  but  few  flowers  except  the  last  of  the 
Campanulas,  especially  if  the  summer  is  hot  and  dry. 
This  is  certainly  a  defect;  and  it  is  one  which  cannot 
be  altogether  overcome,  though  it  may  be  lessened 
with  a  little  contrivance.  It  is  in  the  later  months 
of  the  summer  that  one  begins  to  appreciate  the  value 
of  those  plants  and  shrubs  which  do  not  lose  their 
fresh  colour  and  compact  habit  after  flowering.  There 
are  many  rock  plants  which  spend  all  their  energy 
and  beauty  for  the  year  in  blooming,  and  when  their 
bloom  is  over  look  weedy  and  dishevelled.  A  rock 
garden  filled  with  these  is  a  dull  sight  by  August, 
however  splendid  it  may  be  in  June.  Such  plants 

174 


THE  ROCK  GARDEN  175 

are  often  the  better  both  in  health  and  in  appear- 
ance for  being  cut  back;  but  even  then  they  have 
an  ugly  cropped  look  for  some  time;  and  one  wants 
a  rock  garden  to  look  always  both  neat  and  natural. 
There  are  luckily  a  good  many  plants,  often  not 
very  conspicuous  in  their  flowers,  and  some  of  them 
apt  not  to  flower  at  all,  which  look  both  neat  and 
fresh  all  the  year  round.  One  may,  perhaps,  grudge 
them  the  space  which  they  occupy  in  the  prime  of 
the  year  and  when  all  the  plants  are  at  their  best; 
but  afterwards  they  more  than  pay  for  their  places. 
Every  large  rock  garden  should  contain  a  good  many 
of  such  plants,  and  particularly  of  the  smaller  and  more 
prostrate  shrubs,  such  as  the  prostrate  Juniper,  the 
Prostrate  Rosemary,  Cotoneaster  congesta  and  Coto- 
neaster  thymifolia,  Santolina  incana,  and  its  dwarfer 
variety,  Berberis  dulcis  nana,  the  dwarf  Lavender, 
and  the  creeping  Artemisias,  especially  A.  sericea, 
which  is  the  most  vigorous  and  easily  grown,  and  the 
more  upright  Artemisia  argentea.  There  are  also 
shrubs  which  have  brilliant  flowers  in  their  season 
and  yet  never  lose  their  beauty  of  foliage  and  habit, 
such  as  the  Alpine  rhododendrons,  Helianthemum 
formosum  (usually  called  Cistus);  the  varieties  of 
the  perennial  Candytuft  (Iberis  sempervirens),  espe- 
cially "Little  Gem,"  and  the  large  flowered  Iberis 
corresefolia;  and  several  species  of  broom  such  as  the 
prostrate  Genista  pilosa,  the  double  variety  of  Genista 
tinctoria,  and  the  beautiful  Cytisus  purpureus.1  Some 

1  Not  hardy  in  northeastern  United  States.    L.  Y.  K. 


176  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

of  these  are  too  large  for  a  small  rock  garden,  but 
others  are  not  out  of  scale  even  in  the  smallest;  and 
besides  these  shrubs  there  are  many  little  plants  that 
never  deteriorate  after  flowering.  Among  these  there 
is  no  need  to  do  more  than  mention  the  Mossy  Saxi- 
frages, the  different  varieties  of  Thymus  serpyllum, 
especially  albus  and  lanuginosus,  the  dwarf  Alyssum 
saxatile,  Lithospermum  prostratum,  which  often  flowers 
intermittently  in  the  late  summer  and  autumn,  Veron- 
ica repens,  Veronica  pectinata,  Arenaria  tetraquetra, 
several  species  of  Draba,  Achillea  rupestris  and  A. 
huteri,  Tanacetum  argenteum,  and  Saxifraga  apiculata. 
All  of  these  are  beautiful  in  their  habit  of  growth  for 
long  after  they  have  ceased  to  flower,  and  most  of 
them  remain  beautiful  all  through  the  winter,  keep- 
ing the  rock  garden  fresh  and  green  when  borders  are 
all  desolate. 

But  still  there  remains  the  problem  of  flowers;  for 
greenery  is  well  enough,  but  we  want  something  be- 
sides greenery  in  August  and  September,  and  in  many 
rock  gardens  we  do  not  get  it.  Yet  there  are  a  good 
many  rock  plants  that  bloom  well  up  into  the  autumn, 
and  a  few  which,  if  not  rock  plants,  are  yet  well  suited 
by  their  habit  to  grow  among  them  and  which  are 
autumn  blooming  by  nature.  Most  of  the  Pinks 
flower  in  June,  though  some  of  them  continue  to 
throw  up  blossoms  intermittently  until  the  frosts; 
but  Dianthus  noeanus,  a  little-known  species  from 
Asia  Minor-,  flowers  in  August.  It  has  a  very  neat 
tufted  habit,  and  pretty  white  and  curiously  fringed 


THE  ROCK  GARDEN  177 

flowers,  and  may  be  easily  raised  from  seed  and  grown 
in  any  dry  sunny  place  among  rocks.  Another  late 
flowering  plant  of  the  pink  tribe  is  Silene  schafta, 
which  also  blossoms  in  August  and  September.  It  is 
not  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  silenes,  but  easy 
to  raise  from  seed  and  to  grow;  and  its  pink  flowers 
are  very  useful,  if  a  little  dull  in  colour.  Sedum  Ewersii 
and  S.  Sieboldii  are  both  late  flowering  plants  with 
pink  flowers  and  neat  grey  leaves.  They  thrive  in 
any  dry  place,  but  sometimes  suffer  from  severe  frosts. 
Their  foliage  dies  down  in  the  winter.  Polygonum 
vaccinifolium  is  a  most  valuable  late-flowering  plant 
for  the  rock  garden.  It  has  a  creeping  habit  and  soon 
covers  a  good  deal  of  space.  It  is  deciduous,  and  its 
leaves  appear  rather  late;  but  they  remain  fresh  and 
bright  until  the  autumn,  and  it  bears  its  delicate  pink 
flowers  up  to  the  frosts.  It  does  well  on  the  north 
side  of  the  rock  garden  in  rather  poor  soil  if  it  gets 
plenty  of  light  and  air.  In  rich  soil  and  shady  places 
it  often  refuses  to  bloom.  The  beautiful  Polemonium 
confertum  mellitum  flowers  both  in  spring  and  in  au- 
tumn; in  fact,  it  is  apt  to  flower  itself  to  death.  But 
it  is  easily  raised  from  seed,  and  does  well  with  a  north- 
west or  west  aspect  in  sandy  loam  and  leaf  mould. 
Erodium  reichardi,  the  smallest  of  the  Erodiums, 
flowers  into  late  summer,  and  so  does  Erodium  ma- 
cradenium.  In  a  large  rock  garden  Nierembergia 
rivularis  is  a  most  valuable  plant  for  the  later  months. 
It  makes  a  bright-green  carpet,  which  keeps  its  fresh- 
ness well  up  to  the  frosts,  and  continues  to  throw  up 


178  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

its  large  white  flowers  to  the  end  of  September,  if  it 
is  grown  on  the  flat  in  full  sun,  and  top-dressed  with 
leaf  mould  in  the  spring.  It  spreads  so  fast  where  it 
prospers  that  it  is  a  dangerous  plant  for  small  rockeries. 
(Enothera  marginata  and  O.  taraxacifolia  again  are 
only  plants  for  large  rock  gardens.  O.  marginata 
continues  in  bloom  till  September,  and,  where  it 
thrives,  increases  at  a  great  rate  by  underground 
suckers.  It  is  easy  enough  to  grow  in  full  sun  and 
light  soil.  0.  taraxacifolia,  which  often  dies  in  the 
winter  but  can  be  easily  raised  from  seed  to  flower 
the  same  year,  blossoms  up  to  the  frosts.  Both  of 
these  plants  are  prostrate  in  habit,  and  have  large 
and  beautiful  white  flowers.  Zauschneria  Californica 
is  an  autumn  flowering  plant  with  brilliant  scarlet 
blossoms.  It  also  increases  rapidly  and  needs  plenty 
of  room.  It  thrives  and  flowers  best  in  a  hot,  dry 
place.  Plumbago  Larpentse,  also  an  autumn  flowering 
plant,  with  fine  cobalt  blue  blossoms,  may  be  grown 
with  it.  Aplopappus  Brandegei  is  a  little  known  but 
valuable  composite  from  America.  It  is  like  a  minute 
sunflower,  but  low  and  bushy  in  growth.  It  flowers 
from  the  beginning  of  July  to  the  autumn,  and  thrives 
in  any  sunny  dry  place.  Most  of  the  Androsaces  are 
spring  flowering,  but  Androsace  lanuginosa  is  at  its 
best  in  August,  and  often  continues  to  bloom  until 
the  frost.  It  is  also  one  of  the  easiest  to  grow,  as  well 
as  one  of  the  most  beautiful.  It  likes  a  deep  soil,  2  ft. 
at  least  of  fibrous  loam,  leaf-mould  and  mortar  rubble 
and  a  fairly  cool  situation,  where  its  roots  can  run 


THE  ROCK  GARDEN  179 

under  one  rock  and  its  stems  trail  over  another.  When 
the  stems  get  long  they  should  be  pegged  down  just 
under  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  they  will  soon  root 
and  grow  into  a  large  patch.  Geranium  subcaulescens, 
a  fine  mountain  species  from  Greece,  a  little  larger 
and  more  vigorous  than  G.  argenteum,  also  remains 
long  in  bloom,  so  does  Lychnis  lagascae  when  the 
plants  are  young,  and  so  does  Bellis  caerulescens,  a 
pretty  little  daisy  from  North  Africa  which  requires 
a  warm  place. 

But  the  best  way  to  ensure  flowers  in  the  rock  gar- 
den in  the  late  summer  and  autumn  is  to  retard  the 
blossoming  season  of  certain  plants  by  treating  them 
as  annuals.  This  is  really  nothing  else  but  bedding 
out,  and  pedants  who  object  to  bedding  out  anywhere 
will  probably  consider  it  impiety  in  the  rock  garden. 
But  bedding  out  is  wrong  only  when  it  is  contrived 
so  as  to  make  plants  look  ugly;  and  there  is  no  reason 
why  they  should  look  ugly  when  bedded  out  in  the 
rock  garden  any  more  than  in  the  border.  There  are 
certain  beautiful  rock  plants  which  will  flower  the 
same  year  from  seed,  but  later  than  if  the  seed  is 
sown  the  year  before.  Among  these  are  Papaver  al- 
pinus,  Linaria  alpina,  Calandrinia  umbellata,  Cam- 
panula caespitosa  and  C.  pumila  (the  same  plant  for 
garden  purposes),  and  Antirrhinum  asarina.  Papaver 
alpinus  and  Linaria  alpina  will  usually  flower  the 
same  year  if  treated  as  hardy  annuals;  but  their 
flowering  may  be  ensured  if  they  are  sown  in  boxes 
in  a  cold  frame  about  the  end  of  March  and  planted 


180  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

^ 

out  as  soon  as  possible.  This  applies  also  to  the  other 
plants  mentioned  above.  They  are  all  very  easily 
raised  from  seed,  and  if  treated  as  annuals  will  come 
into  flower  in  July  and  often  blossom  up  to  the  frosts. 
Papaver  alpinus  is  a  plant  so  beautiful  that  it  has 
moved  M.  Correvon  to  write  a  very  pretty  poem  about 
it.  It  is  like  a  small  and  more  delicate  Iceland  poppy. 
The  flowers  are  white,  pink,  orange,  or  yellow,  and 
often  delicately  fringed.  It  must  be  protected  from 
drought  and  often  flowers  itself  to  death,  but  repro- 
duces itself  freely  by  self-sown  seedlings.  Linaria 
alpina  is  almost  more  beautiful.  The  type  has  bril- 
liant purple  and  orange  flowers.  There  is  a  variety 
all  purple  and  one  pink  and  orange.  It  does  well  in 
most  situations  when  it  has  plenty  of  light  and  air. 
It  also  often  flowers  itself  to  death,  but  seeds  itself 
almost  too  profusely.  Both  of  these  plants  should  be 
transplanted  with  care  and  when  they  are  very  small. 
This  also  applies  to  Calandrinia  umbellata,  which 
likes  the  hottest,  driest  places  and  has  flowers  of  a 
very  brilliant  crimson  magenta  colour,  which  might 
be  ugly  but  for  their  shining  silky  texture.  It  should 
be  treated  as  an  annual,  as  it  is  apt  to  die  in  our  win- 
ters. It  does  best  in  very  hot,  dry  summers.  An- 
tirrhinum asarina  is  a  prostrate  Snapdragon  from 
Spain  with  pale  yellow  flowers.  It  also  likes  a  very 
hot  place,  and  will  usually  survive  the  winter  if  planted 
in  a  crevice  between  the  rocks  and  in  a  soil  mainly 
consisting  of  rubble.  It  is  a  curious  and  beautiful 
plant,  but  not  suited  for  a  wet  or  cold  climate.  Cam- 


THE  ROCK  GARDEN  181 

panula  caespitosa,  the  most  familiar  of  Alpine  Hare- 
bells, will  thrive  almost  anywhere,  especially  if  its  roots 
and  long  suckers  can  run  under  a  rock.  It  should 
not  be  placed  near  any  delicate  Alpines,  as  it  is  very 
encroaching.  There  are  white  and  pale  blue  varieties. 
It  is,  of  course,  a  true  perennial;  but  seedlings  flower 
later  than  old  plants,  and  remain  in  blossom  until  the 
frosts.  Therefore  it  is  particularly  useful  when  treated 
as  an  annual.  Campanula  carpatica  will  also  flower 
the  same  year  from  seed;  but  it  is  rather  a  large  plant 
for  a  small  rockery. 

Of  all  these  plants  that  can  be  grown  as  annuals 
Linaria  alpina  is  the  most  useful,  since  it  will  scarcely 
smother  the  most  minute  Alpines  when  growing  in 
the  poor  soil  which  most  small  Alpines  like,  while  in 
better  soil  and  on  the  north  side  of  the  rock  garden 
it  grows  much  stronger  and  will  give  the  right  amount 
of  shade  to  plants  such  as  the  Alpine  primulas,  Saxi- 
fraga  apiculata,  and  Morisia  hypogaea.  It  multiplies 
so  quickly  by  means  of  self-sown  seedlings  that  it  be- 
comes almost  a  weed,  but  its  growth  is  so  slight  and 
delicate  that  scarcely  any  plant  can  be  harmed  by  it. 
There  are  also  some  true  annuals  that  can  be  used 
to  brighten  the  rock  garden  in  autumn,  such  as  the 
dwarfest  form  of  Alyssum  maritimum  and  the  delicate 
little  lonopsidium  acaule,  which,  if  sown  early  in  the 
spring,  will  seed  and  flower  again  from  self-sown  seed- 
lings in  the  autumn.  Nor  is  there  any  reason  in  the 
nature  of  things  why  Lobelia,  a  beautiful  plant  made 
unpopular  by  misuse,  should  not  be  employed  in  this 


182  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

way.  These  annuals  and  others  as  small  in  their 
growth  should  be  sown  or  planted  in  the  bare  places 
left  by  early  flowering  bulbs,  such  as  Chionodoxas 
and  the  spring  and  winter  Irises  and  the  dwarf  Daf- 
fodils. But  there  are  also  bulbs  well  fitted  for  the 
rock  garden  which  will  flower  in  the  late  summer  and 
autumn.  One  of  the  best  of  these  is  Anomatheca 
cruenta,  a  plant  like  a  miniature  gladiolus  with  bright 
crimson-scarlet  flowers,  which  grows  about  half  a 
foot  high,  and  which  should  be  planted  in  spring  and 
lifted  for  the  winter.  There  are  also  the  autumn 
flowering  Crocuses,  such  as  Crocus  speciosus,  C. 
zonatus,  and  C.  pulchellus,  all  with  delicate  lilac- 
coloured  flowers,  the  autumn  flowering  Cyclamens, 
and  the  beautiful  autumn  Snowflake,  Acis  autum- 
nalis,  which  likes  a  cool  place  and  very  sandy  soil. 
The  Colchicums  are  not  so  suitable  for  the  rock  gar- 
den, as  they  throw  up  very  large  leaves  in  the  spring; 
but  Sternbergia  lutea  is  a  fine  plant  for  large  rock  gar- 
dens, and  will  flower  from  the  end  of  September  al- 
most up  to  Christmas.  It  is  sometimes  rather  a  shy 
bloomer,  but  seems  to  do  best  in  warm  sheltered  places 
and  light  soil  with  a  good  dose  of  manure  well  below 
the  bulbs.  It  also  likes  lime.  All  of  these  bulbs,  ex- 
cept perhaps  Acis  autumnalis,  are  the  better  for  a 
covering  of  one  of  the  smaller  Stonecrops,  so  that  the 
ground  they  occupy  need  never  be  bare. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  HERBACEOUS 
BORDER 

GARDENERS  often  write  and  talk  as  if  it  were 
quite  easy  to  keep  a  herbaceous  border  full  of 
flowers  for  six  or  seven  months  of  the  year.  Now  if 
it  were  easy,  the  bedding-out  system,  with  its  obvious 
disadvantages,  would  surely  never  have  come  into 
vogue;  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  not  easy;  indeed, 
it  is  probably  impossible;  and  gardeners  of  the  greatest 
skill  and  taste  do  not  attempt  it.  The  real  problem 
of  the  herbaceous  border  is  not  to  keep  it  in  full  flower 
from  April  to  October,  but  to  prevent  it  from  looking 
like  a  spent  firework  after  the  first  flush  of  summer 
bloom  is  over.  Some  of  the  noblest  herbaceous  plants, 
such  as  Larkspurs  and  Oriental  Poppies,  have  this 
grave  defect,  that  they  become  ugly  and  ragged  as 
soon  as  they  go  out  of  flower,  and  even  with  the  best 
cultivation  remain  ugly  and  ragged  for  some  time. 
During  this  period,  since  the  better  grown  they  are 
the  more  space  they  occupy,  they  are  an  ugly  blot 
upon  the  border,  and  a  border  that  is  filled  with  plants 
of  this  kind  may  be  very  splendid  for  a  while,  but 
when  half  the  summer  is  over  it  will  begin  to  look 
autumnal.  It  is  easy  enough  to  have  some  flowers 
in  blossom  in  the  border  so  long  as  there  is  sun  and 

warmth  enough  to  bring  flowers  out  at  all;    but  a 

183 


184  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

border  will  not  look  beautiful  unless  it  has  that  air 
of  prosperity  which  is  attained  without  difficulty  in 
June,  but  not  in  August. 

Now  many  borders  lose  this  air  of  prosperity  too 
early,  just  because  their  owners  are  too  eager  for  a 
profusion  of  bloom  at  the  time  when  flowers  are  most 
plentiful.  They  fill  the  border  with  the  flowers  they 
like  best,  Larkspurs,  Irises,  Madonna  Lilies,  Poppies, 
Pansies,  Columbines,  and  so  on,  and  do  not  consider 
what  is  to  happen  when  these  are  spent.  Even  if 
they  vary  these  with  later-blooming  plants,  such  as 
Phloxes  and  Michaelmas  Daisies,  they  forget  the  gaps 
that  will  remain  when  their  favourites  go  out  of  flower. 

There  is  a  fashion  just  now  for  the  herbaceous  bor- 
der; but  that  fashion  will  not  last  unless  gardeners 
arrive  at  a  clear  understanding  of  what  can  be  done 
with  the  herbaceous  border  and  what  cannot,  and 
unless  they  evolve  sound  principles  for  its  treatment. 
Otherwise,  sooner  or  later  there  will  be  a  reaction 
in  favour  of  bedding-out,  with  its  long  succession  of 
bloom  and  its  persistent  neatness  and  air  of  prosperity. 
We  are  apt  at  present  to  think  that  there  is  no  need 
for  a  border  to  look  neat;  in  fact,  that  the  desire  for 
neatness  is  a  proof  of  perverted  taste.  But  that  de- 
sire is  a  natural  one,  and  has  always  existed.  It  is 
quite  a  modern  idea  that  gardens  should  emulate  the 
wildness  of  nature,  and  one  that  could  only  arise 
among  a  people  to  whom  the  wildness  of  nature  is 
becoming  an  unwonted  luxury.  It  is,  in  fact,  the 
most  artificial  form  of  a  nature  worship  that  is  itself 


THE  HERBACEOUS  BORDER  185 

a  reaction  against  excessive  artifice;  and,  like  all 
artificial  things,  we  may  be  sure  it  will  not  last.  The 
desire  for  neatness  will  revive  again;  indeed,  it  has 
never  died  in  those  who  care  for  the  art  as  well  as  the 
craft  of  gardening;  and  they  should  make  it  their 
business  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  herbaceous  bor- 
der, to  combine  its  variety  and  profusion  with  neat- 
ness and  order.  Only  if  they  do  this  will  they  secure 
it  against  a  reaction  which  will  lead  to  the  old  excesses, 
to  the  foolish  neatness  of  carpet  bedding,  the  dull 
monotony  of  ribbon  borders. 

There  are  some  gardeners  with  large  gardens  who 
keep  different  borders  for  different  times  of  year;  and 
this  is  an  excellent  plan  if  the  garden  is  large  enough 
to  make  it  possible.  Indeed,  it  is  the  only  method 
that  will  bring  the  full  glory  of  every  season  into  the 
garden.  But  it  is  not  a  method  for  every  one;  and 
most  people,  even  if  their  gardens  are  large,  have 
borders  near  the  house  which  they  wish  to  be  beauti- 
ful during  all  the  months  in  which  the  garden  can  be 
enjoyed  at  all.  Such  borders  should  be  planned  sys- 
tematically and  with  foresight,  and,  above  all,  with 
a  clear  understanding  that  they  cannot  be  all  full  of 
flowers  from  April  to  October.  It  is  the  desire  for 
too  many  flowers  that  has  produced  the  worst  abuses 
of  bedding  out;  and  only  those  who  have  rid  them- 
selves of  this  desire  can  solve  the  problem  of  the  her- 
baceous border.  They  must  also  rid  themselves  of 
pedantic  prejudices  against  all  plants  that  are  not 
hardy  perennials.  No  doubt  the  herbaceous  border, 


186  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

if  we  are  to  make  a  fetish  of  it,  should  be  filled  only 
with  herbaceous  plants  —  that  is  to  say,  with  hardy 
plants  that  die  down  in  the  winter.  But  this  would 
mean  the  exclusion  of  German  Irises,  Yuccas,  all 
shrubs,  Pinks,  and,  indeed,  all  plants  that  give  the 
garden  beauty  and  interest  in  the  winter;  and  no  one 
would  carry  fanaticism  so  far  as  that.  We  will  as- 
sume, then,  that  our  herbaceous  border  is  not  to  be 
all  herbaceous;  indeed,  that  it  is  to  contain  any  plants 
that  we  can  grow  and  that  will  contribute  to  its  beauty. 
The  essence  of  the  herbaceous  border,  for  those  who 
are  not  the  slaves  of  a  name,  consists  in  its  variety, 
continuity,  and  permanence.  The  best  herbaceous 
borders  are  full  of  contrasts  both  of  colour  and  form; 
their  beauty  persists  from  spring  to  autumn,  and 
some  of  it  remains  even  in  the  winter;  while  they 
look  as  if  they  had  been  long  established  and  long 
cared  for. 

This  air  of  permanence  is  not  easy  to  impart  to  a 
border;  indeed,  it  cannot  be  imparted  by  means  of 
herbaceous  plants  alone  or  without  orderly  and  syste- 
matic arrangement.  It  can  only  be  attained  by  the 
use  of  shrubs  and  other  plants  which  keep  their  beauty, 
or  some  part  of  it,  throughout  the  year,  or  at  least 
through  the  spring,  summer,  and  autumn.  These 
shrubs  and  plants  should  be  regarded  as  the  per- 
manent part  of  the  border  design,  as  the  framework 
to  be  planned  and  determined  first,  after  which  the 
more  ephemeral  details  can  be  filled  in.  But  if  shrubs 
are  planted  in  a  border  they  must  be  in  character  with 


THE  HERBACEOUS  BORDER          187 

the  idea  of  a  border,  and  they  must  not  interfere  with 
the  health  of  the  other  plants  in  it;  for,  after  all,  a 
border  is  not  a  shrubbery.  There  are  luckily  a  good 
number  of  shrubs,  compact  in  their  growth  as  well 
as  beautiful,  not  too  wide  rooting,  and  so  long  associated 
with  herbaceous  plants  that  they  will  not  look  incon- 
gruous in  a  herbaceous  border.  The  best  of  these 
are  the  most  familiar,  such  as  Rosemary,  Lavender, 
Lavender  Cotton  (Santolina),  some  of  the  Cistuses, 
some  of  the  Shrubby  Veronicas,  and  Southernwood, 
which,  however,  has  this  disadvantage,  that  it  does 
not  keep  its  beauty  through  the  winter.  All  of  these 
shrubs  not  only  have  a  quiet  beauty  of  their  own, 
but  also  serve  as  excellent  foils  to  more  brilliant  plants; 
while  some  of  them,  of  course,  are  worth  growing  for 
their  flowers  alone.  They  should,  as  we  have  said, 
be  arranged  systematically  and  so  as  to  make  the 
framework  of  the  border's  design.  If  they  are  dotted 
about  at  random,  a  great  part  of  their  effect  is  lost. 
But  while  he  is  planting  them  the  gardener  must 
consider  how  he  can  best  combine  them  with  the 
more  ephemeral  plants,  and  he  must  not  arrange 
them  so  regularly  as  to  suggest  hedges.  Their  chief 
purpose  is  to  "pull  the  border  together,"  to  make  a 
kind  of  permanent  pattern  that  is  distributed  all  over 
it.  This  pattern,  therefore,  must  be  contrived  so 
that  no  part  of  it  will  be  obscured  at  any  time  by 
tall-growing  herbaceous  plants.  There  is  no  use  in  a 
well-rounded  clump  of  Lavender  if  a  great  Larkspur 
grows  up  in  front  of  it.  Rather  the  Larkspur  should 


188  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

be  masked  by  the  Lavender,  so  that  it  is  only  seen 
rising  behind  it  in  its  prime.  Those  shrubs  will  make 
the  best  pattern  and  the  best  contrast  with  herbaceous 
plants  which  are  conspicuous  for  their  glaucous  leaves; 
and  these  should  not  be  used  in  too  great  variety. 
Three  different  kinds  of  shrubs,  such  as  Lavender,1 
Rosemary,  and  the  tall  Cistus  cyprius  behind,  are 
quite  enough  for  any  border,  even  the  largest.  In- 
deed, if  the  tall  and  dwarf  Lavender  are  used  in  com- 
bination, they,  with  the  Cistus,  will  make  an  ex- 
cellent framework  for  any  border.  They  should  be 
planted  regularly,  the  dwarf  Lavender  in  the  fore- 
ground directly  in  front  of  the  Cistus  in  the  back- 
ground, and  the  taller  Lavender  half-way  back  in  the 
intervals.  Shrubs  so  used  should  never  be  allowed  to 
grow  straggly,  but  should  be  kept  symmetrical  and 
compact  by  clipping.  If  the  reader  fears  that  such 
a  regular  arrangement  of  only  two  or  three  kinds  of 
shrubs  would  look  monotonous,  he  should  remember 
that  it  can  be  combined,  not  only  with  an  infinite 
variety  of  herbaceous  plants,  but  also  with  plants  of 
lasting  beauty,  such  as  Pinks,  Yuccas,  some  of  the 
Sea  Hollies,  and  the  German  Irises,  which  will  help 
to  diversify  the  permanent  design. 

When  a  border  is  planned  and  planted  in  this  manner, 
the  gardener  should  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  for 
an  abundance  of  flowers.  His  first  object  should  be 
to  get  the  plants  forming  his  permanent  design  well 

1  Lavender  in  the  United  States  needs  protection,  and  C.  cyprius  is  not 
hardy  in  the  Northern  States.     L.  Y.  K. 


THE  HERBACEOUS  BORDER  189 

established  and  well  grown.  He  should  not,  there- 
fore, crowd  and  smother  them  while  still  small  with 
quick-growing  herbaceous  plants.  If  he  has  patience 
enough,  he  will  do  well  to  give  his  shrubs  two  years 
start  of  the  larger  herbaceous  plants,  for  the  shrubs 
will  be  worse  than  useless  in  the  border  unless  they 
are  thoroughly  shapely  and  well  grown;  and  it  is 
very  easy  to  spoil  a  young  plant  of  Lavender  amid 
the  rank  summer  growth  of  a  rich  border. 

There  is,  of  course,  less  need  to  mask  the  later 
flowering  herbaceous  plants  with  permanent  shrubs 
than  the  earlier.  Indeed,  plants  like  Dahlias,  Michael- 
mas Daisies,  and  Chrysanthemums  may  be  employed 
to  hide  the  Larkspurs  and  Poppies  when  they  have 
ceased  to  be  beautiful;  and  the  gardener  in  planning 
his  border  should  place  his  tall  early-flowering  plants 
behind  his  tall  late-flowering  plants,  not,  of  course, 
in  monotonous  rows  but  in  a  broken  though  regular 
order.  An  ordered  diversity  is  the  secret  of  com- 
position in  a  border  as  in  most  other  things.  The  eye 
should  not  be  drawn  from  end  to  end  by  straight  lines 
of  the  same  plants  all  flowering  together,  nor  should 
it  be  bewildered  by  a  mere  confusion.  It  should  be 
conscious  of  a  framework  in  the  design  provided  by 
the  repetition  of  certain  prominent  plants  and  relieved 
by  diversity  of  detail.  Parts  of  this  framework  must, 
as  we  have  said,  be  permanent.  Other  parts  may  de- 
pend upon  the  flowering  season  of  different  conspicuous 
plants,  such  as  Larkspurs,  Pseonies,  Phloxes,  and 
Dahlias,  placed  at  regular  intervals.  But  the  design 


190  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

must  always  be  made  up  of  plants  conspicuous  in  some 
way  or  another,  either  in  their  foliage  or  in  their  habit 
of  growth,  and  the  less  conspicuous  plants  should  be 
used  only  for  diversity  and  contrast. 

The  front  of  the  border,  since  all  of  it  is  always 
visible,  is  more  difficult  to  plan  than  the  back,  and 
has  an  even  greater  need  of  permanent  features.  Many 
gardeners  overlook  this  fact.  They  aim  at  a  continuous 
blaze  of  flowers  in  the  front  of  their  borders,  even  when 
they  are  content  with  alternations  of  flower  and  leaf- 
age behind;  and  the  result  often  is  untidiness  just 
where  the  border  ought  to  be  most  tidy.  It  is  also 
a  mistake  in  design  to  have  an  unbroken  line  of  bright 
colour  in  front  of  a  more  varied  background,  as  the 
eye  is  then  absorbed  by  the  foreground,  and  can  only 
get  away  from  it  by  an  effort.  There  is,  therefore, 
an  even  stronger  reason  for  alternations  of  flower  and 
leafage  in  the  front  of  a  border  than  behind,  and 
these  alternations  should  be  carefully  planned.  No 
plants  are  more  useful  as  permanent  features  in  the 
front  of  the  border  than  the  Garden  Pinks;  and  these 
should  not  be  planted  in  monotonous  rows,  but  at 
regular  intervals  and  alternating  with  other  plants 
such  as  Pansies,  which  will  remain  longer  in  bloom 
and  will  contrast  with  them  both  in  flower  and  in 
leafage.  If  the  ordinary  Pansies  are  used  they  may  be 
removed  after  their  first  flush  of  bloom  and  replaced 
by  bedding  plants  such  as  Verbenas  or  Ivy-leafed 
Geraniums,  or  any  beautiful  and  low-growing  half- 
hardy  annuals.  But  if  the  gardener  wishes  to  avoid 


THE  HERBACEOUS  BORDER  191 

the  trouble  and  expense  of  bedding  out  he  can  alternate 
his  Pinks  with  Violas  or  Tufted  Pansies,  which  will, 
if  well  treated,  blossom  for  most  of  the  summer  and 
can  be  cut  back  when  they  are  spent  and  straggly. 
Behind  these  low-growing  plants  he  can  arrange  an- 
other alternation  of  more  or  less  permanent  plants, 
such  as  the  dwarf  Lavender,  Santolina,  the  dwarf 
Alyssum,  Campanula  carpatica,  Pentstemons,  Aquilegia 
caerulea,  and  many  others.  Here,  too,  he  may  replace 
spring  with  summer  flowering  plants;  and  here  will 
be  the  place  for  many  bulbs,  such  as  the  dwarf er 
early  flowering  Gladioli,  the  varieties  of  Lilium  elegans, 
the  May  Tulips,  Camassia  esculenta,  English  and 
Spanish  Irises,  and  Montbretias,  which  should  be 
planted  near  the  more  permanent  shrubby  plants 
and  will  be  an  admirable  contrast  to  them  both  in 
growth  and  flower.  Indeed,  the  secret  of  the  right 
use  of  bulbs  in  a  border  is  to  contrast  them  with  plants 
of  a  different  and  more  permanent  growth.  They 
should  never  be  relied  on  for  the  main  effect,  as  they 
are  usually  insignificant  when  out  of  flower  and  do 
not  flower  very  long.  So  they  should  be  planted  in 
clumps  and  not  in  lines,  and  their  position  should 
be  determined  by  that  of  the  plants  with  which  they 
are  intended  to  contrast.  These  are  only  notes  upon 
a  large  and  difficult  subject,  but  it  is  hoped  that  they 
may  illustrate  some  of  the  principles  of  border  design. 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  BULBS 

WRITING  lately  upon  the  use  of  bulbs  in  the 
border  we  said  that  the  secret  of  that  use 
was  to  contrast  them  with  plants  of  a  different  growth. 
This  is  also  true,  we  think,  of  their  use  in  every  part 
of  the  garden.  The  beauty  of  monocotyledonous 
plants  is  usually  altogether  different  in  character 
from  the  beauty  of  dicotyledonous  plants;  more 
simple,  fugitive,  and  strange.  Now  the  term  bulb  is 
a  vague  one,  especially  as  it  is  used  in  nurserymen's 
catalogues,  where  it  is  often  applied  to  any  kind  of 
tuberous  or  fleshy  root,  whether  of  a  monocotyledonous 
or  a  dicotyledonous  plant.  But  in  this  article  we 
shall  use  it,  not  in  the  narrowest  possible  sense,  but 
only  of  monocotyledonous  plants  with  bulbous  roots 
which  are  dormant  for  a  certain  period  of  the  year; 
and  we  shall  use  it  thus,  not  for  any  scientific  reason, 
but  because  we  wish  to  suggest  certain  principles  for 
the  treatment  of  such  plants  in  the  garden,  based 
both  upon  the  character  of  their  beauty  and  upon 
the  habit  of  remaining  dormant  for  a  certain  period 
of  the  year. 

The  purpose  of  the  old-fashioned  treatment  of  the 
best  known  bulbous  plants,  such  as  Tulips,  Hyacinths, 
and  Narcissi,  was  to  produce  a  great  blaze  of  blossom 
for  a  short  time.  They  were  planted  by  themselves 

192 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  BULBS          193 

in  regiments;  and  when  they  were  out  of  flower  they 
were  taken  up  to  make  room  for  other  plants.  This 
treatment  took  no  heed  of  their  individual  beauty  of 
form.  Each  plant  was  considered  only  as  contribut- 
ing to  a  great  mass  of  colour,  and  certainly  these 
masses  of  colour  were  very  splendid.  But  a  great 
part  of  the  beauty  of  a  Tulip  consists  in  its  form,  in 
the  shape  of  its  flower,  the  manner  in  which  it  carries 
its  flower,  and  the  contrast  between  the  shape  and 
carriage  of  the  flower  and  the  shape  and  carriage  of 
the  leaves.  All  this  beauty  was  lost  when  Tulips 
were  arranged  in  regiments.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  a  single  Tulip  is  too  small 
and  too  simple  in  its  form  to  produce  much  effect 
in  any  arrangement  of  flowers;  and  this  is  true  also 
of  most  bulbous  plants;  besides  this,  their  flowering 
period  is  usually  short.  Therefore,  if  we  are  to  make 
the  best  possible  use  of  their  beauty,  we  must  arrange 
them  so  that  a  great  part  of  that  beauty  may  not  be 
lost  in  a  blaze  of  colour,  but  also  so  that  it  may  not 
be  frittered  away  by  too  scattered  planting.  The 
best  way  to  do  this  is  to  combine  them  with  plants 
of  a  very  different  habit  of  growth  and  character  of 
flowers;  and  of  such  combinations  there  is  an  infinite 
variety.  We  have  spoken  of  the  difference  in  the 
beauty  of  monocotyledonous  and  dicotyledonous  plants. 
That  difference  is  a  fortunate  fact  in  Nature,  by 
means  of  which  she  produces  some  of  her  most  ex- 
quisite contrasts;  and  it  is  the  gardener's  business 
to  observe  such  contrasts  and  to  base  his  own  ar- 


194  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

rangements  upon  them.  We  have  said  that  mono- 
cotyledonous  plants  are  apt  to  be  more  simple,  fugi- 
tive, and  strange  in  their  beauty  than  dicotyledonous 
plants;  and  the  gardener  should  attempt  to  contrast 
simplicity  with  complexity,  fugitiveness  with  per- 
manence, and  strangeness  with  familiarity.  This  he 
may  do  in  many  different  ways.  He  may,  to  take 
one  of  the  most  obvious,  plant  his  Tulips  among 
Pansies  or  Forget-me-nots,  so  that  they  will  rise 
through  the  contrasting  carpet  of  less  simple  leaved 
flowers,  as  Daffodils  rise  through  the  grass.  A  hun- 
dred Tulips  all  of  the  same  kind  so  planted  will  not 
lose  any  of  their  beauty  of  form,  since  it  will  be  em- 
phasized by  the  contrasting  beauty  of  the  carpeting 
plants;  and  it  is  only  by  means  of  an  arrangement 
of  this  kind  that  the  true  beauty  of  Hyacinths  can  be 
seen.  Many  people  condemn  them  as  stiff;  and, 
indeed,  when  they  are  planted  out  in  rows  by  them- 
selves they  are  as  stiff  as  a  row  of  Lombardy  Poplars. 
But  as  the  beauty  of  the  Lombardy  Poplar  only  shows 
itself  in  contrast  with  trees  of  a  more  spreading  growth, 
so  the  beauty  of  the  Hyacinth  only  shows  itself  in 
the  same  kind  of  contrast.  No  one  would  think  of 
growing  Bluebells  in  regiments,  because  we  are  all 
familiar  with  the  manner  in  which  Nature  grows 
them.  But  the  regimental  system  is  even  more  fatal 
to  the  beauty  of  the  garden  Hyacinth. 

This  plan  of  carpeting  bulbs  with  other  plants  of 
a  very  different  habit  is  now  very  general,  but  not  so 
universal  as  it  should  be.  Many  people  who  are  de- 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  BULBS          195 

lighted  with  the  beauty  of  bulbs  in  the  grass  will  yet 
grow  the  same  bulbs  in  beds  or  borders  on  the  old 
regimental  system,  and  they  do  this,  probably,  be- 
cause they  think  it  saves  trouble  to  the  gardener. 
It  is  so  easy  to  fill  a  bed  with  Tulips  in  the  autumn 
and  then  to  lift  them  when  they  have  gone  out  of 
flower  to  make  room  for  summer  bedding.  But  it  is 
just  as  easy  to  combine  them  with  plants  such  as 
Pansies,  Forget-me-nots,  the  double  Arabis,  and 
many  early  flowering  annuals,  which  may  be  removed 
at  the  same  time  to  make  room  for  the  summer  bed- 
ding. In  the  herbaceous  border,  however,  the  prob- 
lem of  the  right  use  of  bulbs  is  less  easy;  and  yet 
it  is  not  very  difficult.  True,  there  are  many  bulbs 
which  are  best  lifted  as  soon  as  they  die  down,  and 
there  are  others  which  resent  disturbance  at  the  very 
time  when  the  border  may  need  to  be  dug  over.  But 
both  these  difficulties  may  be  overcome  with  a  little 
contrivance  and  foresight.  Take,  for  instance,  the 
case  of  bulbs  such  as  Tulips  and  Hyacinths,  which 
usually  should  be  lifted  at  least  every  other  year. 
These  may  be  planted  in  considerable  masses  among 
carpeting  plants  or  in  clumps  of  eight  or  ten  sur- 
rounded with  plants  that  will  contrast  with  them; 
and  they  may  be  taken  up  without  difficulty  when 
they  have  died  down,  and  without  injuring  the  plants 
about  them.  The  arrangement  in  clumps  is  best 
suited  to  the  taller  May  flowering  Tulips  and  to  other 
tall  bulbs  such  as  the  Camassias,  Gladioli,  English 
and  Spanish  Irises,  Crown  Imperial  Lilies,  most  of 


196  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

the  true  Lilies,  and  Galtonias.  Some  of  these,  espe- 
cially Madonna  Lilies,  resent  disturbance,  and  it  is 
the  bulbs  which  resent  disturbance  that  we  have 
learnt  to  grow  in  the  most  beautiful  and  rational  way. 
No  doubt,  if  Madonna  Lilies  could  be  treated  like 
Tulips,  they  would  often  be  bedded  out  like  Tulips, 
and  all  their  beauty  would  be  spoilt.  As  it  is,  we  grow 
them  in  the  border  and  treat  them  like  herbaceous 
plants,  with  excellent  results.  We  should  extend  the 
same  treatment  to  other  bulbous  plants,  so  far  as 
their  needs  will  allow.  Thus,  the  May  flowering 
Tulips  should  be  planted  in  clumps  of  eight  or  ten  at 
regular  intervals  along  a  border,  and  if  a  hundred  or 
more  of  the  same  kind — say,  of  Gesneriana  or  Picotee 
— are  then  planted  in  the  same  border,  they  will  pro- 
duce a  brilliant  effect  of  colour  just  when  it  is  most 
needed,  whether  in  contrast  with  flowering  plants 
about  them  such  as  Wallflower  or  Forget-me-not, 
or  with  shrubs  not  yet  in  flower,  such  as  Lavender 
or  Santolina.  And,  if  necessary,  they  may  be  lifted 
when  they  die  down,  just  as  Wallflowers  and  Forget- 
me-not  are  taken  up  when  they  go  out  of  flower,  and 
other  plants  or  bulbs  may  be  put  in  their  place. 

The  contrast  between  the  grey  foliage  of  shrubs, 
such  as  Lavender  or  Santolina  or  Southernwood,  and 
the  brilliant  flowers  of  bulbs,  such  as  Gladioli,  Eng- 
lish and  Spanish  Irises,  and  some  of  the  smaller  Lilies, 
is  always  most  effective;  and  the  beauty  of  the  con- 
trast depends  as  much  upon  the  difference  of  char- 
acter in  the  plants  as  upon  difference  of  colour.  The 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  BULBS          197 

bulbs,  with  their  fugitive  brilliance,  seem  to  have 
sought  the  protection  of  the  more  enduring  shrubs. 
And  this  is  not  altogether  fancy  in  some  cases;  for 
Lilies  never  thrive  so  well  as  when  they  are  close  to 
shrubs,  not  only  because  the  shrubs  protect  them 
from  frost  when  their  growth  is  young  and  tender, 
but  because  they  like  a  very  rooty  soil.  Thus,  both 
for  horticultural  and  aesthetic  reasons,  it  is  well  to 
grow  Lilies  such  as  L.  Chalcedonicum  and  L.  pom- 
ponium  close  to  shrubs  such  as  Lavender  or  Santolina 
or  Rosemary;  and  both  the  beauty  and  the  health 
of  the  Lilies  will  be  improved  by  the  association. 
Among  such  shrubs  also  may  be  grown  the  different 
kinds  of  Gladioli,  particularly  the  early  flowering 
ones,  which  should  be  planted  in  the  autumn  and 
which  will  get  valuable  protection  from  the  shrubs 
when  their  growth  first  appears  in  the  winter.  The 
later  Gladioli,  if  so  treated,  may  take  the  place  of 
Tulips  when  they  are  lifted,  and  shrubs  will  be  much 
less  dangerous  neighbours  to  them  than  herbaceous 
plants  which,  especially  in  wet  summers,  often  grow 
with  incalculable  rapidity.  If  bulbs  are  associated 
with  herbaceous  plants  the  best  effect  will  be  obtained 
where  there  is  the  greatest  contrast  of  growth.  Thus 
bulbs  which  throw  up  tall  straight  spikes  of  bloom 
should  not  be  planted  among  herbaceous  plants  which 
flower  in  the  same  way,  but  rather  among  plants  of 
an  altogether  different  habit — for  instance,  Gladioli 
among  Gypsophilas;  Madonna  Lilies  among  the 
lilac  flowered  Goat's  Rue  (Galega);  Orange  Lilies  (L. 


198  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

croceum)  with  Erigeron  speciosus;  Lilium  elegans 
with  Linum  perenne  or  Nepeta  mussini  (Catmint); 
Tiger  Lilies  with  Eryngiums;  Galtonias  with  the  pink 
Lavatera  trimestris,  and  so  on.  But  in  all  such  com- 
bination care  must  be  taken  not  to  place  bulbs  too 
close  to  some  herbaceous  plant  that  will  make  a  strong 
growth  before  they  do,  and  so  smother  them  before 
they  have  a  chance  of  asserting  themselves. 

The  later  and  larger  growing  bulbs  are  much  easier 
to  deal  with  in  the  border  than  the  many  little  bulbs 
that  flower  early  in  the  spring  and  then  die  down 
and  remain  dormant  until  autumn.  It  is  possible, 
of  course,  to  lift  bulbs  like  Crocuses,  Scilla  sibirica, 
Scilla  bifolia,  the  Chionodoxas,  the  Puschkinias,  and 
the  Muscaris  as  soon  as  they  are  dormant,  and  to 
plant  them  again  in  the  autumn.  But  it  is  a  trouble- 
some business;  and  many  of  them  do  better  if  left 
undisturbed.  Yet,  though  they  make  the  border 
beautiful  in  early  spring,  they  leave  blank  spaces 
just  when  it  is  expected  to  be  fullest.  If  they  are  to 
be  grown  in  the  border  they  can  be  covered  with 
Sedum  album,  which  will  not  interfere  with  their 
growth,  and  which  is  green  all  the  winter  and  very 
pretty  when  in  flower.  In  this  case  they  must  be 
planted  well  in  the  front  of  the  border  as  the  Sedum, 
if  it  is  to  do  well  and  flower,  must  not  be  overshadowed 
by  other  plants.  But,  indeed,  these  smaller  bulbs 
always  do  best  in  the  front  of  the  border,  as  they  are 
apt  to  be  forgotten  and  dug  up  if  they  are  among 
large  herbaceous  plants,  and  also  they  do  not  get 
the  summer  sun  which  most  of  them  need  to  ripen 


THE  TREATMENT  OF  BULBS          199 

them.  It  is  also  possible,  of  course,  to  sow  some  low 
growing  hardy  annual  over  them,  especially  over  the 
Scillas  and  Chionodoxas,  which  like  to  be  planted  deep 
in  a  light  soil.  But  this  is  not  so  easy  to  manage  with 
Crocuses,  which  like  to  be  planted  just  under  the  sur- 
face. The  best  plan  of  all,  perhaps,  with  these  little 
bulbs  is  to  plant  the  Crocuses  and  Muscaris  in  the 
grass,  where  they  will  thrive,  and  the  Scillas  and 
Chionodoxas  and  Puschkinias  on  some  sunny  bank 
which  they  can  have  to  themselves.  Such  a  bank 
may  be  carpeted  with  Sedum  with  excellent  effects. 
Scilla  sibirica  may  also  be  grown  in  the  grass,  where 
it  is  not  too  thick  and  coarse;  but  it  usually  thrives 
better  under  a  Sedum. 

There  are  the  same  difficulties  to  be  dealt  with  in 
the  case  of  the  smaller  autumn  flowering  bulbs,  such 
as  Crocus  speciosus,  Crocus  zonatus,  and  Crocus 
pulchellus,  Sternbergia  lutea,  and  the  Colchicums. 
The  last  of  these  will  usually  do  well  in  the  grass  where 
the  soil  is  good  and  not  too  dry.  The  others  are  best 
grown  like  the  Chionodoxas  in  places  which  they  can 
have  to  themselves.  The  autumn  Crocuses  can  be 
mixed  with  Scillas  and  Chionodoxas,  so  that  there 
may  be  flowers  in  the  same  spot  both  in  spring  and 
autumn.  They  are  of  the  easiest  culture.  Stern- 
bergias  are  not  so  easy,  and  in  some  places  they  re- 
fuse to  flower.  They  seem  to  require  a  light  soil  and 
a  warm  sheltered  place,  and  they  are  the  better  for 
lime  hi  the  soil.  A  carpeting  of  Sedum  will  protect 
them  in  the  winter. 

In  most  gardens  there  are  odd  places  too  dry  or 


200  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

poor  for  ordinary  herbaceous  plants  in  which  most 
of  these  smaller  bulbs  will  thrive,  and  where  they 
should  be  planted  in  large  numbers.  Even  if  such 
spots  are  flowerless  in  summer,  it  is  a  great  pleasure 
to  have  them  covered  with  flowers  in  spring  or  au- 
tumn, and  one  which  is  very  easily  obtained. 


ENGLISH  IDEALS  OF  GARDENING 

GARDENING  in  England,  like  music  in  Ger- 
many, is  a  national  and  popular  art;  and  just 
as  music  in  Germany  is  based  upon  folk  song,  so  gar- 
dening in  England  is  based  upon  the  cottage  garden. 
German  music,  when  it  has  tended  to  become  arti- 
ficial or  exotic,  has  been  simplified  and  quickened 
by  a  return  to  folk  song,  the  lasting  affection  for  which 
has  protected  the  German  taste  in  music  from  those 
perversities  to  which  it  is  subject  in  other  arts.  It 
has  provided  a  standard  of  simplicity  and  sincerity 
by  which  even  the  most  elaborate  compositions  are 
judged,  just  the  kind  of  standard  which  Tolstoy  has 
tried  to  set  up  in  his  "What  is  Art?"  And  the  Eng- 
lish cottage  garden  has  provided  the  same  kind  of 
standard  for  the  art  of  gardening,  and  in  the  same 
way  has  redeemed  that  art  from  exotic  perversities. 
When  the  bedding-out  mania  was  at  its  height,  it 
was  the  spectacle  of  cottage  gardens,  with  their  beauty 
that  seemed  as  natural  to  the  English  countryside 
as  the  very  meadows  and  hedgerows,  which  gave 
people  a  disgust  for  their  rows  of  Calceolarias  and 
Geraniums  and  Lobelias.  But  for  the  cottage  gar- 
dens they  would  never  have  been  even  aware  of  the 
existence  of  all  the  beautiful  old  plants  which  had 

been  banished  so  long  from  the  gardens  of  the  rich; 

203 


202  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

still  less  would  they  have  been  aware  of  the  right 
manner  of  growing  them.  It  was  because  gardening 
was  a  national  art  practised  by  the  poor  for  love,  and 
not  as  a  fashionable  amusement,  that  it  recovered 
so  suddenly  from  those  perversities  of  taste  which 
infected  nearly  all  arts  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
But  it  would  not  have  so  recovered  unless  the  tastes 
of  rich  and  poor  had  been  really  alike,  unless  the 
rich  had  found  in  the  gardens  of  the  poor  what  they 
desired  in  their  own  gardens.  This  is  the  great  dif- 
ference between  gardening  in  England  and  in  other 
countries,  that  in  England  the  cottage  garden  sets 
the  standard,  whereas  in  other  countries  the  standard 
is  set  by  the  garden  of  the  palace  or  the  villa.  And 
the  reason  for  this  is  that,  though  circumstances  have 
made  us  herd  together  in  towns,  we  remain  at  heart 
a  country  people,  unlike  the  French  or  the  Italians, 
and  more  even  than  the  Germans.  This  may  be 
clearly  seen  in  our  architecture,  with  which,  of  course, 
our  gardening,  so  long  as  it  remains  an  art,  is  closely 
connected.  Even  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  great  French 
Cathedrals  were  designed  as  town  buildings,  and  made 
to  tower  above  the  houses  close  about  them.  But 
the  more  lowly  English  Cathedrals  were  intended  to 
be  seen  in  broad  closes,  and  half  of  their  beauty  is 
lost  without  a  close,  just  as  half  the  beauty  of  a  French 
Cathedral  is  lost  when  it  is  isolated.  But  the  peculiar 
genius  of  the  English  builders  has  been  shown  more 
in  village  churches  and  tithe  barns  and  country  houses 
even  than  in  Cathedrals;  whereas  the  peculiar  genius 


ENGLISH  IDEALS  OF  GARDENING     203 

of  the  French  has  been  shown  in  Cathedral  and  cha- 
teaux, and  of  the  Italians  in  palaces.  These  inveterate 
country  tastes  of  ours  are,  no  doubt,  the  chief  reason 
why  our  towns  are  so  incoherent  and  ugly.  Our  hearts 
are  never  in  the  town,  even  when  we  are  forced  to 
live  in  it,  and  our  idea  of  improving  it  is  to  make  it 
as  much  like  the  country  as  we  can.  Thus  our  town 
architecture  is  always  apt  to  be  freakish  and  incon- 
gruous, putting  on  airs  of  rustic  simplicity  or  medieval 
romance,  trying  to  make  us  believe  that  we  are  any- 
where rather  than  in  a  modern  city;  and  thus  the 
gardens  of  our  squares  are  desolate  parodies  of  wood- 
land and  meadow.  The  foreigner,  who  has  heard  of 
the  English  passion  for  gardening,  must  suppose  that 
passion  to  be  extinct  when  he  looks  through  the  rail- 
ings of  a  London  square  at  the  thickets  of  privet  and 
the  grass  worn  bare  with  the  drip  from  grimy  and  dis- 
consolate trees.  He  cannot  know  that  in  these  dread- 
ful places  the  Englishman  has  attempted  an  impos- 
sible task  and  given  it  up  in  despair;  that  having  an 
open  space  in  the  heart  of  a  town  he  has  tried  to  per- 
suade himself  that  it  is  a  still  surviving  piece  of  the 
country  which  he  loves.  A  Frenchman  would  treat 
such  a  space  as  an  annexe  to  the  houses  around  it, 
as  a  kind  of  outdoor  parlour  common  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  all  those  houses,  and  he  would  decorate  it 
like  a  parlour  with  ornaments,  which,  whether  they 
were  shrubs  or  statuary  or  flowers,  he  would  keep  in 
their  proper  place.  Perfectly  content  with  town  life, 
he  would  have  no  wish  to  make  believe  that  he  was 


204  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

in  the  country.  Indeed,  he  would  be  more  inclined 
when  in  the  country  to  make  believe  that  he  was  in 
the  town.  Thus  his  gardening,  and  also  the  Italian 
gardening,  is  seen  at  its  best  in  the  town  and  at  its 
worst  in  the  country,  unlike  ours  which  is  country 
gardening  and  will  not  acclimatize  itself  to  the  town. 
It  is  true,  of  course,  that  the  gardening  of  our  parks 
is  excellent,  better  indeed  than  any  in  Paris;  but 
that  is  just  because  those  parks  are  large  enough  to 
admit  of  country  gardening,  because  flowers  can  be 
well  grown,  and  trees  and  large  shrubs  are  not  mere 
nuisances  in  them.  The  gardeners  of  our  parks  have 
managed  with  admirable  art  to  make  their  flowers 
seem  at  home  where  they  are  planted,  an  art  which 
the  Paris  gardeners,  skilful  as  they  are,  have  not  ac- 
quired. Even  in  towns  we  are  supreme  in  the  manage- 
ment of  flowers,  wherever  flowers  can  be  well  grown; 
and  the  reason  is  that  we  think  of  a  garden  as  a  place 
for  flowers,  whereas  for  the  Frenchman  or  the  Italian 
it  is  an  outdoor  parlour  which  may  be  ornamented 
with  flowers  or  with  other  things  according  to  the 
taste  of  its  owner. 

This  love  of  flowers  is  part  of  our  love  for  the  coun- 
try, and  consequently  it  is  a  love  of  flowers  growing 
rather  than  picked.  We  may  compare  it  with  the 
Italian  love  of  painting,  not  merely  in  the  form  of 
pictures,  but  as  a  decoration  to  walls,  which  still  per- 
sist although  the  great  masters  of  fresco  have  long 
passed  away  and  although  it  is  often  put  to  absurd 
uses.  Those  who  have  only  seen  Italian  pictures  in 


ENGLISH  IDEALS  OF  GARDENING    205 

galleries  can  never  understand  the  purpose  and  full 
beauty  of  Italian  painting;  they  can  never  know 
what  a  natural  growth  it  was,  until  they  see  the  frescoes 
and  altar-pieces  where  they  were  meant  to  be.  Such 
works  in  galleries  are  like  picked  flowers,  still  beauti- 
ful indeed,  but  robbed  of  half  their  original  beauty 
because  they  have  been  severed  from  their  native 
soil;  and  just  as  an  Italian  of  the  fifteenth  century 
would  feel  if  he  saw  the  altar-piece  of  his  native 
Cathedral  in  the  National  Gallery,  so  we  feel  when 
we  see  the  flowers  of  our  gardens  picked  and  arranged 
in  bouquets  in  shop  windows.  Foreigners  do  not 
usually  seem  to  have  this  delight  in  the  beauty  of 
growing  flowers.  They  like  them  just  as  well  picked 
as  growing.  Indeed  they  are  apt  to  grow  them  so 
artificially  that  they  have  no  more  beauty  when  grow- 
ing than  when  picked.  For  them  flowers  are  always 
mere  ornaments,  whether  of  the  house  or  of  the  gar- 
den. But  for  us  they  are  living  things  with  a  beauty 
dependent  upon  the  whole  of  their  life.  This  love  of 
flowers  as  living  things,  and  therefore  not  only  of 
flowers  but  of  plants,  is  the  basis  of  English  garden- 
ing, the  cause  both  of  its  virtues  and  of  its  faults. 
It  was  overcome  for  a  while  in  the  last  century  and 
in  the  gardens  of  the  rich;  but  it  persisted  all  the 
while  among  cottagers;  and  it  is  from  cottagers  that 
the  rich  regained  it.  There  are  beautiful  cottage 
gardens  everywhere  in  England,  because  the  English- 
man loves  growing  flowers  for  their  own  sake,  as  the 
German  loves  music;  and  it  is  this  love  of  growing 


206  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

flowers  which  has  made  gardening  a  popular  art  in 
England. 

In  other  countries,  where  there  is  not  the  same 
love  of  growing  flowers,  the  palace  and  not  the  cot- 
tage garden  sets  the  standard,  and  therefore  gar- 
dening is  not  a  popular  art;  for  the  poor  man  cannot 
hope  to  compete  with  the  rich  in  the  way  of  palatial 
gardens,  any  more  than  in  the  way  of  palatial  archi- 
tecture. But  he  can  compete  with  the  rich  in  the 
growing  of  plants  since  he  can  grow  his  plants  for 
himself,  whereas  the  rich  man  must  hire  a  gardener 
to  do  it  for  him.  Thus  in  England  many  a  rich  man 
has  envied  the  beauty  of  a  cottage  garden,  and  tried 
to  imitate  it  in  his  own;  but  abroad  little  gardens, 
when  there  are  any,  are  apt  to  be  imitations  of  the 
gardens  of  the  rich;  and  in  Italy  or  France  it  is  the 
sumptuous  gardens  that  delight  us  with  their  terraces 
and  avenues  and  cascades,  whereas  in  England  we 
get  most  pleasure  from  the  little  flowery  patches  and 
clipped  yew  hedges  and  arches  by  the  roadside.  For- 
eigners sometimes  wonder  how  it  is  that,  with  all  our 
great  poets,  our  common  life  seems  to  be  so  prosaic. 
The  poetry  of  the  English  nature  expresses  itself  in 
gardens  as  the  poetry  of  the  German  nature  in  folk- 
song; and  by  means  of  gardens  it  is  intimately  con- 
nected with  our  common  life.  Once  it  expressed  it- 
self also  in  building,  and  more  directly  and  clearly 
in  the  homelier  kinds  of  building  than  in  great  cathe- 
drals or  palaces.  Once  we  had  a  true  folk-art  in  our 
cottages  and  farmhouses  as  well  as  in  our  gardens. 


ENGLISH  IDEALS  OF  GARDENING    207 

That  is  almost  lost,  although  there  are  now  some 
signs  of  its  revival;  but  it  still  persists  in  our  gar- 
dens and  through  them  it  may  some  day  return  into 
our  architecture;  for  the  persistence  of  the  cottage 
garden  proves  that  the  spirit  which  produced  the 
beautiful  cottage  of  the  past  is  still  alive,  even  though 
the  cottage  garden  may  grow  up  about  a  white-brick 
and  blue-slated  villa. 

The  love  of  growing  plants  is  the  cause  both  of 
the  virtues  and  the  faults  of  English  gardening.  One 
instance  of  the  faults  may  be  noticed  in  the  desolate 
gardens  of  our  London  squares.  These  must  be  fail- 
ures, as  they  are  attempts  to  do  what  is  impossible. 
But  in  our  larger  country  gardens  are  often  to  be 
found  errors  of  the  same  kind,  though  not  so  fatal. 
The  rich  man,  who  admires  a  cottage  garden  and  who 
tries  to  imitate  its  beauty  in  his  own  grounds,  is  apt 
to  forget  that  a  great  part  of  that  beauty  depends 
upon  the  fact  that  the  cottage  garden  is  planned  to 
suit  its  own  small  scale,  that  the  art  of  cottage  gar- 
dening has  grown  up  through  centuries  and  has  adapted 
itself  perfectly  to  its  own  conditions.  The  conditions 
of  the  large  garden  are  different  and  require  a  different 
and  more  difficult  kind  of  design;  while  its  traditions 
have  been  broken  by  several  violent  changes  of  taste, 
such  as  the  landscape  mania  of  the  eighteenth  century 
and  the  bedding-out  mania  of  the  nineteenth.  It  is 
certainly  possible  for  our  larger  gardens  to  have  some  of 
the  beauty  of  the  cottage  garden;  but  they  must  attain 
to  that  beauty  in  their  own  way,  and,  in  aiming  at 


208  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

it,  they  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  different  kinds  of 
beauty  that  is  proper  to  large  spaces.  It  has  often 
been  remarked  that,  in  certain  details,  such  as  their 
porches  and  west  fronts,  our  cathedrals  were  designed 
as  if  they  were  little  churches;  and,  in  the  same  way 
and  for  the  same  reasons,  our  modern  large  gardens 
are  often  designed  on  a  small  scale  suggested  by  the 
cottage  garden.  The  borders  are  not  long  enough, 
the  lawns  not  large  enough,  the  paths  too  often  broken 
and  curved,  the  shrubs  dotted  about  without  any 
system  or  purpose.  There  are  other  reasons  for  these 
defects  besides  the  cottage  garden  ideal.  One  is  the 
landscape  fashion  which  has  not  yet  passed  away; 
another  is  the  new  fashion  for  having  different  kinds 
of  gardens,  rock  and  water  and  rose,  or  gardens  for 
different  seasons  of  the  year;  and  another,  closely 
connected  with  the  last,  is  the  growing  interest  in  the 
more  difficult  kinds  of  horticulture,  in  the  culture  of 
plants  that  require  special  conditions.  The  am- 
bitious gardener  nowadays  is  apt  to  lose  sight  of  de- 
sign altogether  in  his  attempts  to  solve  different 
horticultural  problems;  and  he  is  the  more  ready  to 
lose  sight  of  design  because  he  does  not  understand 
that  a  large  garden  will  not  look  as  well  as  a  cottage 
garden,  unless  its  design,  like  that  of  the  cottage 
garden,  is  adapted  to  its  scale.  A  large  garden  can 
no  more  imitate  a  cottage  garden  than  a  large  house 
can  imitate  a  cottage.  Just  as  the  irregularity  which 
is  pleasing  and  full  of  character  in  a  cottage  becomes 
incoherent  and  absurd  in  a  large  house,  so  the  ir- 


ENGLISH  IDEALS  OF   GARDENING     209 

regular  planting  and  planning  of  a  cottage  garden, 
which  are  pleasing  when  they  are  made  necessary  by 
its  smallness,  become  merely  chaotic  when  they  oc- 
cur in  a  large  space  where  there  is  no  need  for  them. 
Our  older  garden  designers  of  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries  knew  this  thoroughly.  At  their  best 
they  could  design  gardens  that  were  both  stately  and 
simple,  perfectly  suited  to  the  noble  houses  which 
they  surrounded,  and  with  no  pretence  to  be  either 
wild  or  palatial.  Then,  as  there  were  houses  fitted 
for  every  station  of  life,  so  there  were  gardens  fitted 
for  every  kind  of  house.  The  first  invasion  of  this 
happy  state  of  things  was  made  by  the  Dutch  fash- 
ion of  over-elaboration  and  formality  against  which 
Marvell  protested  in  some  beautiful  verses.  Then 
came  the  French  and  Italian  palatial  ideals,  which, 
however,  never  got  much  hold  in  this  country;  and 
then  the  violent  reaction  of  landscape  gardening, 
which  ended  in  a  chaos,  from  which  we  have  not  yet 
emerged.  The  cottage  garden  has  delivered  us  from 
the  minor,  but  most  disastrous,  fashion  of  bedding 
out.  It  has  given  us  back  some  of  our  old  delight  in 
gardens,  but  it  cannot  by  itself  give  us  back  the  true 
principles  of  design.  These,  probably,  can  only  be 
recovered  with  the  true  principles  of  architecture. 
It  is  certain  that  garden  design  deteriorated  and  fell 
into  chaos  just  as  architecture  deteriorated  and  fell 
into  chaos,  also  that  the  present  improvement  in 
domestic  country  architecture  has  been  accompanied 
by  an  improvement  in  garden  design.  The  English 


210  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

love  of  the  country  has  already  delivered  us  from 
the  worst  errors  of  gardening.  It  may  once  again 
give  us  beautiful  houses,  and  perfect  gardens  to  suit 
them. 


THE  NORTH  SIDE  OF  THE  ROCK  GARDEN 

IT  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  a  well-planned  rock 
garden  that  it  provides  a  great  variety  of  con- 
ditions in  a  small  space.  But  it  requires  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  habits  of  rock  plants  to  profit  by  this 
variety.  Most  rock  plants,  and  particularly  those 
which  grow  high  up  in  mountains,  are  not  so  adapt- 
able as  the  plants  of  the  lowlands.  Their  power  of 
adaptation  seems  to  have  exhausted  itself  in  suiting 
them  to  the  peculiar  conditions  of  their  native  homes; 
and,  the  more  peculiar  these  conditions  are,  the  less 
power  they  usually  have  of  adapting  themselves  to 
others.  In  this  they  are  very  like  human  beings; 
like  the  Eskimo  who  pines  away  from  his  native  ice 
and  snow,  and  the  mountaineer  who  is  homesick  in 
the  plains.  Thus,  when  a  rock  garden  is  well  placed, 
planned,  and  built,  there  yet  remains  the  further 
problem  of  finding  exactly  the  right  positions  for  the 
plants  that  are  to  be  grown  in  it;  and  the  success  of 
a  rock  garden  will  depend  upon  the  nicety  with  which 
this  is  done.  It  is  true  that  there  are  many  rock  plants 
which  will  thrive  fairly  well  in  any  open  position; 
but  even  these  will  usually  do  better  in  one  place 
than  in  another;  and  the  gardener's  aim  should  be 
to  have  all  his  plants  doing  their  best. 

Now,  of  all  differences  of  conditions  which  affect 

211 


STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

the  well-being  of  rock  and  mountain  plants,  the  most 
important  are  those  of  aspect.  Of  the  more  difficult 
Alpine  plants,  many  will  thrive  on  one  side  of  a  stone 
and  not  on  the  other,  because  of  the  difference  of 
aspect;  and  even  to  rock  plants  which  are  not  difficult 
aspect  usually  makes  a  great  difference.  It  is,  un- 
fortunately, impossible  to  lay  down  hard  and  fast 
rules  about  the  aspects  most  suitable  to  particular 
plants,  because  the  general  conditions  of  rock  gardens 
vary  so  much.  Some  are  in  warmer  parts  of  the  coun- 
try than  others.  Some  are  fully  exposed  to  the  sun, 
others  shaded  from  it  to  some  extent  by  the  lie  of  the 
ground  or  by  trees  or  shrubs.  Some  are  in  gardens 
with  a  north  aspect,  others  in  gardens  with  a  south. 
Thus  a  plant  that  would  prefer  a  full  south  aspect 
on  a  rock  garden  in  a  cold  climate,  might  do  best 
with  a  south-west,  or  even  north-west,  aspect  when 
the  rock  garden  was  very  hot  and  sunny.  There  is 
much  that  the  gardener  can  learn  about  his  own  rock 
garden  only  by  experience  and  observation;  and 
whatever  general  directions  are  given  should  be  taken 
as  referring  only  to  average  conditions,  and  should 
be  modified  where  the  conditions  are  not  average. 
But,  if  a  rock  garden  is  well  placed  and  planned  and 
built,  not  too  dry  and  not  too  damp,  and  in  particular 
not  overshadowed  by  trees,  there  are  certain  direc- 
tions about  aspect  that  may  be  followed  without 
much  fear.  Thus  a  south-west  or  south-east  aspect 
is  usually  the  best  for  the  more  delicate  plants  of  the 
higher  Alps,  and  a  full  south  aspect  for  those  which 


NORTH  SIDE  OF  THE  ROCK  GARDEN    213 

come  from  Asia  Minor  and  other  hot  countries.  But, 
as  mountains  have  their  northern  slopes  as  well  as 
their  southern,  there  are  many  mountain  plants  that 
will  thrive  better  on  the  north  side  of  the  rock  garden 
than  on  the  south;  and,  since  many  gardeners  seem 
to  have  some  difficulty  with  the  northern  slopes  of 
their  rock  gardens,  we  propose  to  give  a  list  of  these 
north-loving  plants. 

First  we  will  speak  of  those  which,  although  they 
thrive  on  a  northerly  slope,  yet  require  an  open  situa- 
tion free  from  any  kind  of  shade  or  drip.  Some  of 
them  also,  although  they  like  a  northern  aspect  be- 
cause it  is  turned  away  from  the  full  power  of  the  sun, 
do  not  like  our  north  and  north-easterly  winds  par- 
ticularly in  early  spring,  when  they  are  just  starting 
into  growth.  There  is  a  great  difference  between  a 
north  aspect  that  is  sheltered  by  a  bank  to  the  north 
of  it,  and  one  that  is  quite  unsheltered.  We  shall 
therefore  first  mention  the  plants  which  require  shelter, 
or,  at  any  rate,  a  north-easterly  aspect  rather  than 
one  facing  north-east  or  full  north;  for  there  are  many 
plants  that  will  endure  an  unsheltered  north-westerly 
aspect  but  require  shelter  if  they  are  facing  full  north 
or  north-east.  Of  these,  one  of  the  most  valuable  is 
Lithospermum  prostratum,  perhaps  the  most  valuable 
of  all  rock  plants.  It  will  do  well  on  the  south  side, 
but  even  better  on  the  north  when  it  is  sheltered  from 
the  wind;  but  it  must  have  light,  rich,  and  deep  soil 
free  from  lime,  and  should  be  placed  so  that  its  roots 
can  run  under  a  large  stone.  It  must  also  have  very 


£14  STUDIES  IN   GARDENING 

good  drainage,  and  not  be  overshadowed  by  any  other 
plant.  It  may  be  interspersed  with  Arenaria  montana 
which  thrives  in  the  same  position,  or  with  Saxifraga 
pyramidalis,  which,  unlike  most  of  the  rosette  Saxi- 
frages, prefers  a  soil  free  from  lime.  Most  of  these 
rosette  Saxifrages  will  do  well  on  the  north  side,  espe- 
cially the  great  Saxifraga  longifolia  and  the  little  S. 
valdensis,  both  of  which  dislike  a  very  hot  place; 
but  for  both  of  these  north-west  is  better  than  north- 
east. Many  also  of  the  smaller  Campanulas  like  a 
north  aspect.  Indeed,  C.  pulla  always  does  best  on 
the  north  side,  especially  if  it  is  split  up  and  replanted 
in  fresh  soil  every  two  years  or  so  in  the  spring.  C. 
muralis  with  its  larger  variety  is  an  excellent  plant 
for  a  north  aspect,  and  it  may  be  mixed  with  the 
beautiful  Silene  alpestris  with  the  best  effect.  Other 
Campanulas  that  do  well  on  northern  slopes  are  C. 
turbinata,  the  dwarf  form  of  C.  carpatica,  C.  Tom- 
masiniana,  a  most  delicate  little  Harebell,  so  small 
that  it  must  not  be  put  near  any  large  plant,  C.  Scheu- 
zeri,  C.  pumila  or  caespitosa,  and  C.  garganica  with 
its  varieties.  This  likes  a  north-west  aspect  and  a 
very  open  situation;  and  it  may  be  mixed  with  the 
little  Silene  acaulis,  a  native  of  the  Welsh  mountains, 
which  is  apt  to  burn  up  in  a  very  hot  sun.  Another 
delicate  little  plant  that  will  do  well  with  a  north-west 
aspect  is  Asperula  hirta,  a  Woodruff  with  pale  pink 
flowers,  which  roots  deeply  and  spreads  fairly  rapidly 
in  a  well-drained  place  among  the  rocks.  This  also 
may  be  mixed  with  Campanula  garganica,  or  with 


NORTH  SIDE  OF  THE  ROCK  GARDEN    215 

its  more  vigorous  variety  hirsuta,  with  excellent  ef- 
fect. One  of  the  most  valuable  plants  for  covering 
a  large  space  on  a  northern  slope  is  Polygonum  vac- 
cinifolium.  It  is  quite  prostrate  and  flowers  in  late 
summer  and  autumn.  It  grows  very  quickly,  the 
stems  rooting  in  the  ground,  and  no  small  plants 
should  be  put  near  it.  It  flowers  best  in  a  rather  poor 
soil  and  open  situation.  It  should  be  planted  in 
spring  and  not  disturbed  afterwards.  Space  also  is 
needed  for  Dryas  octopetala,  a  lime-loving  plant, 
which  grows  into  a  large  prostrate  mass,  bearing 
white  blossoms  rather  like  those  of  a  strawberry 
throughout  the  summer.  Many  of  the  smaller  Drabas 
do  well  on  the  north  side,  especially  D.  Aizoon,  D. 
aizoides,  and  D.  bruniasfolia.  Of  these  D.  Aizoon, 
a  native  plant  and  easily  raised  from  seed,  is  the  best. 
It  grows  in  little  rosettes  with  a  head  of  yellow  flowers 
rising  from  the  centre  of  them.  It  is  quite  easy,  but 
does  not  like  a  hot  sun.  The  other  two  are  more 
mossy  in  growth  and  cover  a  larger  space.  Another 
little  crucifer  with  yellow  flowers  that  thrives  on  the 
north  side  is  Morisia  hypogsea.  It  blossoms  very 
early  in  the  spring  and  should  be  planted  in  a  deep 
crevice,  between  rocks.  When  it  has  formed  several 
crowns  it  should  be  divided,  and  replanted  in  fresh 
soil  just  after  flowering.  It  is  a  plant  to  associate  with 
the  smaller  Alpine  Primulas,  most  of  which  like  a 
north-west  aspect  and  the  same  deep  crevices.  The 
best  of  all  these,  perhaps,  is  Primula  pubescens  alba 
(or  nivalis),  a  small  but  vigorous  plant  with  pure 


216  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

white  flowers  in  very  early  spring.  Others  well  worth 
growing  are  P.  viscosa,  P.  auricula  with  its  varieties, 
P.  auricula  marginata  and  P.  marginata,  both  of 
which  like  lime;  P.  calycina,  also  a  lime-lover,  P. 
glutinosa,  and  P.  minima.  They  all  like  to  be  closely 
surrounded  with  rocks,  and  the  soil  should  be  deep, 
light,  and  fairly  rich.  Atragene  alpina,  the  Alpine 
Clematis,  will  do  well  in  a  sheltered  place  on  the 
north  side,  but  it  must  have  a  good  space  to  grow  in. 
It  likes  a  fairly  rich  soil  mixed  with  humus  and  lime. 
Near  it  may  be  placed  Polemonium  confertum  mel- 
litum,  which  has  sweet-scented  white  flowers  and 
grows  about  9  in.  high.  This  plant  often  dies  out 
after  a  year  or  two,  but  it  is  easily  raised  from  seed 
and  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  flowers  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Aquilegia  pyrenaica,  the  smallest  of  the 
Columbines,  also  does  well  on  the  north  side.  It  is 
a  rare  plant,  growing  only  a  few  inches  high,  and  a 
form  of  A.  vulgaris  is  often  sold  for  it.  The  true 
plant  is  well  worth  growing. 

Where  there  is  an  excavated  rock  garden  many 
beautiful  plants  may  be  grown  upon  its  lower  northern 
slopes.  It  is  in  such  a  position  that  Ramondia  pyre- 
naica does  best,  placed  between  rocks  so  that  its  roots 
run  almost  horizontally  backwards,  and  so  that  the 
sun  never  strikes  upon  its  leaves.  It  likes  a  fibrous 
soil  of  loam,  peat,  and  leaf -mould,  with  a  good  dose 
of  lime.  It  is  always  finest  near  to  water,  but  will 
do  well  without  it,  provided  it  gets  no  sun.  Its  true 
beauty  is  only  shown  when  it  is  flourishing.  Plants 


NORTH  SIDE  OF  THE  ROCK  GARDEN    217 

that  may  be  grown  near  it  are  Anemone  alpina,  a 
lime-loving  plant,  and  its  variety  sulphurea,  which 
dislikes  lime,  Anemone  verna,  several  Himalayan 
Primulas,  such  as  P.  rosea,  P.  involucrata,  and  P. 
Sikkimensis,  Chamaelirion  carolinianum,  the  smaller 
Dodecatheons,  and  the  Soldanellas.  A  little  above 
these,  but  where  they  will  never  suffer  from  drought, 
should  be  placed  Saxifraga  apiculata,  S.  sancta,  and 
S.  oppositifolia,  all  plants  with  a  mossy  habit  of  growth 
and  very  beautiful  flowers  in  early  spring.  Saxifraga 
burseriana,  with  its  varieties  and  hybrids,  likes  a 
rather  sunnier  position  and  must  not  suffer  from  damp 
in  the  winter;  but,  as  drought  in  the  summer  is  equally 
fatal  to  it,  it  should  be  given  carefully-chosen  places 
among  rocks  with  a  north-west  or  west  aspect.  It  is 
worth  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

Hitherto  we  have  dealt  mainly  with  the  choicer  or 
less  familiar  plants  that  like  a  north  aspect.  There 
are,  of  course,  many  common  plants  that  will  do  well 
on  any  side  of  the  rock  garden;  but  even  of  these 
some  are  better  suited  to  the  north  than  others.  The 
plants  most  commonly  grown  on  the  north  side  are 
the  mossy  Saxifrages  and  those  of  the  London  Pride 
section.  These  are  so  well  known  that  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  enumerate  their  species  and  varieties.  It  may 
be  mentioned,  however,  that  the  fine  S.  Wallacei  (or 
Camposii)  is  more  impatient  of  drought  and  sun  than 
most  of  them.  It  is  therefore  suited  for  the  lower 
northern  slopes.  Saxifraga  tenella,  which  is  mossy 
in  growth  but  belongs  to  another  section,  does  well 


218  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

in  the  same  situation.  It  is  a  very  pretty  plant.  Rocks 
on  the  northern  slopes  may  be  clothed  with  Arenaria 
Balearica,  a  minute  plant,  which  will  cling  to  them  as 
Ampelopsis  Veitchii  clings  to  a  wall,  and  which  in 
early  summer  is  covered  with  small  white  flowers. 
Near  it  may  be  grown  Linaria  hepaticifolia  (of  Kew), 
a  pretty  plant,  for  which  a  variety  of  L.  cymbalaria 
is  often  sold.  Among  easy  and  vigorous  plants  par- 
ticularly suited  to  the  north  side  are  Waldstenia  tri- 
foliata  and  W.  fragarioides,  the  Acaenas,  particularly 
A.  microphylla,  Margyricarpus  setosus,  a  pretty 
shrub  with  white  berries,  Borago  laxiflora  (this  only 
for  large  rock  gardens),  Saponaria  ocymoides  alba, 
and  those  smaller  flowered  Tufted  Pansies  that  are 
called  Violettas.  These  are  plants  of  garden  origin, 
but  the  best  of  them  are  very  well  suited  for  the  north 
side  of  the  rock  garden.  They  should  be  given  rich, 
well-manured  soil,  and  left  undisturbed  for  some 
years,  where  their  roots  can  thrust  deep  under  a  rock. 
Then  they  will  endure  a  good  deal  of  drought  and  re- 
main long  in  flower.  When  they  get  straggly  they 
should  be  cut  back.  Nearly  all  the  hardy  Cyclamens 
do  well  on  the  north  side  of  the  rock  garden,  and  do 
not  mind  a  dry  place  provided  it  is  not  too  sunny. 
Among  those  which  flower  in  the  autumn  may  be 
planted  some  of  the  smaller  Daffodils,  such  as  Nar- 
cissus minimus,  N.  triandrus  albus,  N.  cyclamineus, 
and  N.  nanus.  These  will  flower  just  when  the  Cy- 
clamens are  at  rest,  and  the  plants  will  not  interfere 
with  each  other. 


NORTH  SIDE  OF  THE  ROCK  GARDEN    219 

Among  plants  usually  grown  on  the  south  side, 
but  well  fitted  for  open  situations  looking  north,  are 
Aubrietia,  which  does  not  flower  quite  so  freely  with 
such  an  aspect,  but  looks  more  green  and  glossy; 
the  creeping  Phloxes,  Veronica  prostrata,  V.  pectinata, 
and  V.  repens,  Dianthus  superbus;  and  in  open  dry 
situations  most  of  the  stronger  Pinks;  Alyssum  saxa- 
tile  compactum;  many  of  the  larger  Sempervivums, 
Thymus  serpyllum,  Arenaria  tetraquetra,  Codonopsis 
ovata,  Erinus  alpinus,  Globularia  cordifolia,  Gypso- 
phila  repens,  Hutchinsia  alpina,  Iberis  sempervirens 
and  its  varieties.  Papaver  alpinum,  Linaria  alpina, 
Saponaria  ocymoides,  and  Silene  Schafta.  We  have 
now  mentioned  enough  plants  to  show  that  there 
can  be  no  difficulty  in  covering  the  northern  slopes 
even  of  the  largest  rock  garden,  and  yet  we  have  said 
nothing  of  shrubs,  many  of  which  will  thrive  with  a 
north  aspect,  and  scarcely  anything  of  bulbs. 


GARDENERS 

THE  relation  between  gardener  and  employer  is 
not  an  easy  one,  especially  if  the  employer  is  a 
gardener  himself.  There  is  apt  to  be  a  conflict  of 
tastes;  and  the  better  the  gardener  the  more  acute 
that  conflict  is  likely  to  be.  Every  good  gardener  is 
sure  to  have  his  own  taste  in  flowers  and  their  arrange- 
ment, and  in  these  days  it  is  not  often  the  taste  of  his 
employer.  The  amateur  in  gardening  is  a  revolu- 
tionary, the  professional  a  conservative.  He  has 
learnt  the  mid- Victorian  routine  when  he  was  a  boy; 
and  if  he  has  learnt  it  well  it  has  brought  him  triumphs 
plain  for  every  one  to  see.  His  ribbon  borders  have 
been  the  talk  of  the  place,  and  he  has  won  many 
prizes  at  the  local  flower  show,  the  certificates  of 
which  he  nails  up  in  his  conservatory.  Naturally  he 
wishes  to  persist  in  his  ribbon  borders  and  his  prize 
winning.  But  his  employer,  if  he  is  a  gardener  him- 
self, has  other  ideas  which  to  the  professional  seem 
merely  the  result  of  ignorance.  The  consequence  of 
this  conflict  in  tastes  may  be  some  real  unhappiness 
to  the  gardener.  He  has  his  duty  to  his  employer, 
of  course,  and  he  can  only  keep  his  place  by  doing  it. 
But  he  has  also  his  artistic  conscience.  This  he  can- 
not satisfy  on  herbaceous  borders  or  bulbs  in  the 

grass  or  rock  gardens.     Other  gardeners  have  been 

220 


GARDENERS 

accustomed  to  admire  the  florid  health  of  his  Begonias, 
the  contrasting  glare  of  his  Geraniums  and  Lobelias, 
the  precision  of  his  carpet  bedding,  and  the  enormity 
of  his  Chrysanthemums.  The  revolution  takes  place, 
and  instead  of  these  proofs  of  his  skill  what  has  he 
to  show  his  friends?  Daffodils  in  the  grass  which, 
they  know,  will  grow  of  themselves.  Great  lumber- 
ing Larkspurs  and  Phloxes  fit  only  for  cottage  gardens, 
not  for  a  gentleman's  place;  and,  worst  of  all,  diminu- 
tive Alpines,  which  may  be  troublesome  but  are  cer- 
tainly not  worth  any  trouble. 

His  employer  takes  no  pride  in  his  flower-show  tri- 
umphs; but  rather  discourages  them,  grudging  the 
time  that  is  necessary  for  their  achievement.  Indeed, 
he  takes  no  pride  in  anything  that  is  worth  doing; 
and  has  no  appreciation  of  real  knowledge  and  skill. 
He  is  all  for  experiment  and  for  growing  weeds  where 
there  ought  to  be  flowers,  and  flowers  where  there 
ought  to  be  weeds.  In  fact,  he  seems  not  to  know 
the  difference  between  a  weed  and  a  flower.  Very 
likely  he  will  waste  good  ground  and  manure  upon 
single  roses,  and  will  have  no  eye  for  the  perfections 
of  Frau  Karl  Druschki.  In  taste  he  is  a  mere  an- 
archist. In  knowledge  he  is  altogether  wanting;  at 
least,  whatever  he  knows  he  has  got  from  silly  books 
written  by  people  like  himself.  Yet  he  presumes  to 
have  opinions  and,  what  is  worse,  to  enforce  them. 
He  ravages  the  garden  and  no  one  can  stop  him,  be- 
cause it  is  his  own  according  to  the  law.  Even  the 
gardener  who  has  been  a  conservative  all  his  life,  in 


STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

politics  as  well  as  gardening,  must  feel  the  iniquity 
of  this.  He  must  feel  that  there  is  a  higher  law  which 
gives  him  some  property  in  what  he  has  made  beauti- 
ful; and  the  less  he  reasons  about  it  the  more  deeply 
he  will  feel  it. 

But  to  the  employer  who  is  an  enthusiast  for  the 
new  horticulture  these  tastes  and  ideas  of  his  gar- 
dener will  seem  the  result  of  mere  arrogant  stupidity. 
He  will  assume  that  the  gardener  wants  to  grow  Gera- 
niums and  Calceolarias,  because  he  can  grow  nothing 
else.  It  is  his  business,  as  a  gardener,  to  produce 
whatever  his  employer  asks  for.  He  has  been  gar- 
dening all  his  life,  yet  he  knows  nothing  about  Alpines, 
not  even  their  names,  and  refuses  to  take  an  interest 
in  them.  "The  worst  of  him  is,"  cries  the  employer, 
"that  he  will  not  learn.  He  thinks  he  knows  every- 
thing and  he  knows  nothing."  And  all  the  while  that 
is  what  the  gardener  is  whispering  to  himself  about 
the  employer.  It  would  not  matter  if  the  employer 
would  attend  to  his  own  business,  whatever  it  may 
be,  and  leave  the  garden  to  its  proper  master.  But 
this  he  will  not  do.  For  some  unknown  reason  he 
must  try  his  hand  at  a  business  for  which  he  is  con- 
stitutionally unfitted.  He  blunders  about  the  garden, 
botching  jobs  which  he  has  paid  others  to  do  for  him 
and  demoralizing  the  under-gardeners  with  his  messy 
habits.  It  is  impossible  to  see  him  at  work  without 
despising  him  in  your  heart;  and  then  precious  time 
has  to  be  spent  in  repairing  the  damage  which  he 
does.  Meanwhile  the  employer  is  also  watching  his 


GARDENERS  223 

gardener  at  work  and  despising  him  in  his  heart. 
He  is  the  slave  of  a  brainless  routine.  When  there 
are  things  of  real  importance  to  be  done,  he  is  clipping 
edges  because  it  is  Thursday,  or  sweeping  up  leaves 
because  it  is  Saturday.  He  forgets  that  it  is  also 
autumn  and  that  grand  new  schemes  are  to  be  exe- 
cuted for  the  winter. 

Gardeners  have  a  great  power  of  passive  rebellion. 
They  take  your  orders  and  seem  to  be  carrying  them 
out,  and  yet  nothing  comes  of  it.  You  may  have  a 
fanatical  dislike  of  bedding  plants,  and  think  that 
you  have  extirpated  them,  yet  all  the  while  there 
are  Geraniums  and  Calceolarias  and  even  Echeverias 
lurking  through  the  winter  in  some  secret  frame;  and 
in  due  season  they  will  appear  in  the  garden  again, 
and  the  gardener  will  say  that  he  had  to  fill  up  with 
something.  If  you  are  a  ruthless  man,  perhaps  you 
will  have  them  pulled  up.  But  you  will  find  that  for 
some  reason  nothing  else  will  grow  where  the  gar- 
dener thinks  they  ought  to  be.  It  is  a  place  ordained 
by  nature  for  bedding  plants;  year  after  year  they 
will  come  there  unless  you  turf  it  up;  and  if  you  do 
that  they  will  break  out  somewhere  else.  There  is 
also  a  curious  difficulty  about  the  planting  of  bulbs 
in  the  grass.  You  tell  your  gardener  that  he  is  to 
arrange  them  in  a  natural  disorder,  you  may  even 
make  a  plan  for  him  with  dots  for  the  bulbs  on  a  piece 
of  paper,  and  he  will  seem  to  listen  and  observe,  and 
will  say  that  he  understands.  But  in  the  spring  the 
bulbs  will  come  up  in  orderly  rows,  or,  worse  still,  in 


STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

geometrical  patterns.  Perhaps  the  gardener  does  not 
listen.  Perhaps  he  thinks  you  cannot  be  really  so 
foolish  as  you  seem;  or,  perhaps  —  and  this  is  the 
most  probable  explanation  —  the  habits  of  a  lifetime 
are  too  strong  for  him,  and  as  he  plants  he  obeys  un- 
consciously his  instinct  for  symmetry  and  order. 

Whatever  the  explanation  may  be,  these  incidents 
make  pleasant  relations  difficult;  and,  for  the  en- 
thusiast, unpleasant  relations  with  his  gardener  are 
intolerable.  They  must  be  even  worse  for  the  gar- 
dener, since  he  cannot  openly  rebel  except  at  the  risk 
of  losing  his  livelihood.  It  is  his  business,  you  may 
say,  to  please  his  employer;  but  he  is  human,  and 
the  more  his  heart  is  in  his  work  the  more  eager  he  will 
be  to  do  work  after  his  own  heart.  Every  good  gar- 
dener is  something  of  an  artist,  however  perverse  his 
taste  may  seem,  and  he  needs  to  be  humoured  like 
an  artist.  But  then  his  employer  too,  if  he  is  an  en- 
thusiast, is  also  something  of  an  artist,  and  probably 
not  content  with  mere  humouring.  It  may  be  a  point 
of  honour  with  him  to  have  no  bedding  plants  in  his 
garden.  It  may  be  a  point  of  honour  with  the  gar- 
dener to  have  some.  When  this  is  the  case  the  humane 
employer  usually  makes  some  concession.  He  sees 
that  if  there  were  no  bedding  plants  his  gardener 
would  lose  all  interest  in  his  work  and  pine  away. 
Therefore  he  gives  him  a  piece  of  the  garden  to  play 
with  and  does  not  grudge  the  time  he  spends  upon  it, 
provided  he  will  do  as  he  is  bid  elsewhere.  This  com- 
promise is  not  perfectly  satisfactory  to  either  party. 


GARDENERS  225 

The  employer  has  to  explain  to  his  friends  that  the 
bedding  plants  are  not  his  taste.  The  gardener  has 
to  explain  to  his  friends  that  only  in  one  little  part  of 
the  garden  has  he  been  given  a  fair  chance.  Some 
employers,  perhaps,  will  say  that  they  see  no  reason 
for  a  compromise  at  all.  The  garden  is  theirs  to  do 
what  they  like  with.  But  the  gardener,  though  they 
pay  his  wages,  is  not  altogether  theirs.  They  can, 
of  course,  get  rid  of  him,  and  look  for  one  who  will 
do  exactly  as  they  like;  but  they  will  find  it  difficult 
to  get  him.  The  good  gardener  always  has  tastes  of 
his  own;  if  he  had  not  he  would  not  be  a  good  gar- 
dener; and  his  tastes  are  usually  conservative,  not 
merely  because  he  has  been  trained  in  an  old-fash- 
ioned school,  but  also  because  all  men,  except  the 
most  able,  are  apt  to  fall  into  routine  in  any  difficult 
work  that  is  the  main  business  of  their  lives.  In  the 
difficult  work  of  a  Government  office  this  tendency 
produces  red  tape.  In  the  difficult  work  of  the  gar- 
dener it  produces  the  bedding-out  system;  for  gar- 
dening is  very  difficult  work,  much  more  difficult 
than  the  irresponsible  amateur  is  apt  to  suppose. 
He  plays  with  just  the  parts  of  it  which  amuse  him, 
and  he  finds  them  easy  and  delightful.-  He  forgets 
that  the  gardener  has  to  do  many  things  which  are 
not  amusing  —  that  he  has  to  mow  the  lawn  and  sweep 
the  paths;  to  produce  fruit  and  vegetables  as  well 
as  flowers;  and,  above  all,  that  he  is  expected  not  to 
fail  in  what  he  attempts.  It  is  this  consciousness 
that  he  must  not  fail  which  makes  the  professional 


226  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

averse  from  experiment.  It  is  the  consciousness  that 
he  can  fail  if  he  chooses  which  makes  the  amateur  so 
eager  for  experiment.  We  wonder  why  the  presenta- 
tion portraits  which  we  see  in  the  Academy  are  so 
dull  and  unadventurous.  We  should  remember  that 
the  artist  who  paints  portraits  for  a  living  has  to  pro- 
duce good  likenesses.  If  he  does  not,  he  is  held  by  his 
customer  to  have  failed.  He  cannot  begin  on  the 
portrait  of  an  alderman,  and  then,  if  the  whim  seizes 
him,  turn  it  into  a  picture  of  light.  If  he  does,  the 
alderman  will  not  buy  it.  So  a  gardener  has  to  pro- 
duce a  certain  amount  of  cabbages  in  the  year  and 
a  certain  amount  of  flowers;  and  if  he  knows  one 
sure  way  of  producing  them,  he  sees  no  reason  for 
trying  another.  Thus  there  is  a  cause,  much  deeper 
than  mere  perversity  of  taste,  for  horticultural  routine; 
and  many  an  eager  amateur  who  rails  at  it  would 
soon  slip  into,  it  if  he  were  in  his  gardener's  place. 
The  free  play  of  the  intelligence  and  the  consideration 
of  first  principles  are  excellent  things;  but  very  few 
of  us  have  enough  energy  to  combine  them  with  prac- 
tice, and  this  is  the  reason  why  practice  is  usually 
so  much  less  clever  than  criticism.  It  is  the  business 
of  criticism  to  be  clever.  It  is  the  business  of  prac- 
tice to  produce  results;  and  practice  will  usually  take 
the  line  of  least  resistance  towards  that  object. 

These  are  general  considerations;  but  they  have  a 
very  -particular  application  to  gardeners,  who  have 
much  more  difficult  work  to  do  than  most  men  of  so 
little  general  education.  It  is  only  genius  that  can 


GARDENERS  227 

combine  efficient  practice  with  a  free  play  of  the  in- 
telligence and  a  consideration  of  first  principles;  and 
even  genius  must  be  educated  before  it  can  do  this. 
Genius,  of  course,  is  as  rare  among  gardeners  as  among 
other  men,  and  educated  genius  still  rarer.  Even  the 
most  accomplished  amateur,  if  he  has  the  luck  to 
catch  an  intelligent  gardener  young,  if  he  can  teach 
him  all  that  he  knows  himself  and  train  him  in  his 
own  taste,  will  yet  probably  fail  to  teach  him  that 
certainty  of  practice  which  is  required  of  most  gar- 
deners. His  pupil  may  know  a  good  deal  about  Al- 
pines; he  may  be  able  to  plant  and  maintain  a  beau- 
tiful herbaceous  border;  but  the  chances  are  he  will 
be  rather  disappointing  with  his  spring  greens,  and 
no  good  at  all  at  grapes.  Men  trained  in  this  way 
may  be  invaluable  in  very  large  gardens,  where  there 
is  much  division  of  labour;  but  they  are  not  so  useful 
as  the  ordinary  routine-trained  gardener  in  a  place 
where  they  have  to  do  or  supervise  everything.  Ama- 
teurs often  wonder  at  the  certainty  of  the  results  pro- 
duced by  the  great  florists.  That  certainty  comes 
from  a  division  of  labour  impossible  in  the  ordinary 
garden.  The  man  who  has  only  one  thing  to  do  learns 
to  do  it  excellently,  not  only  because  he  is  always  do- 
ing it,  but  because  he  has  nothing  else  to  think  of. 
The  ordinary  gardener  has  a  great  many  different 
things  both  to  do  and  to  think  of.  He  has  to  plan 
as  well  as  to  execute;  and  it  is  only  natural  that  he 
should  plan  according  to  a  routine  and  should  be 
very  unwilling  to  break  through  it.  Thus,  it  is  not 


228  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

sheer  vice  in  the  gardener  that  he  likes  bedding  out, 
but  the  natural  tendency  of  even  conscientious  men 
to  simplify  their  tasks.  Their  minds  flinch  from  the 
insecurity  and  bewilderment  that  await  them  as  soon 
as  they  leave  their  routine,  and  the  more  conscientious 
they  are  the  more  they  prefer  a  narrow  and  obvious 
success  to  an  ambitious  failure. 

These  reflections  are  not  intended  to  dishearten 
the  enthusiast.  Their  purpose  is  that  he  shall  make 
the  best  of  his  gardener  by  first  learning  to  under- 
stand him.  When  he  does  that  he  may  teach  his 
gardener  to  understand  his  own  aims  and  to  see  that 
they  are  not  merely  the  results  of  ignorance.  Gar- 
deners are  apt  to  think  meanly  of  all  information  got 
from  books,  for  they  know  that  books  are  usually 
written  by  amateurs.  It  is  no  use,  therefore,  to  try 
to  impress  your  gardener  with  your  knowledge,  for  he 
will  assume  that  you  have  got  it  from  a  book  written 
by  some  one  who  has  never  grown  a  cabbage.  The 
only  way  to  convince  him  that  you  know  something 
is  to  prove  it  by  results.  Then  he  will  respect  you, 
even  if  he  disagrees  with  you.  You  may,  by  per- 
suasion and  artifice,  even  induce  him  to  agree  with 
you  to  some  extent  in  time.  At  any  rate,  that  is  the 
object  to  aim  at;  otherwise  you  must  be  always  at 
odds  with  your  gardener,  or  else  always  changing  him 
until  you  find  a  paragon;  an  event  which  may  never 
happen. 


THE  HOUSE  AND  THE  GARDEN 


JL 


is  a  close  connexion  between  the  art  of 
gardening  and  the  art  of  house-building,  and 
that  connexion  persists  even  when  deliberate  efforts 
are  made  to  break  it.  Beautiful  houses  made  the 
beautiful  formal  gardens  of  the  seventeenth  and  earlier 
centuries.  Ugly  houses  made  the  landscape  gardens 
of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries.  It  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  Englishman  that,  when  he  despaired 
of  making  his  house  beautiful  he  should  not  have 
despaired  of  making  his  garden  beautiful;  or,  rather, 
that  when  he  was  content  with  an  ugly  house,  and  per- 
suaded that  in  some  way  its  ugliness  was  appropriate 
to  his  own  wants  and  expressive  of  his  own  ideas, 
he  should  not  have  been  content  with  the  same  kind 
of  ugliness  in  his  garden.  About  the  house  he  was 
ready  to  believe  what  architects  told  him;  but  he 
would  no  longer  trust  them  with  his  garden,  and  thus 
there  came  into  being  the  landscape  garden  designer, 
whose  aim  it  was  to  make  his  client  forget  the  existence 
of  his  house  the  moment  he  walked  into  his  garden. 
Here,  of  course,  there  was  a  divorce  between  the  art 
of  gardening  and  the  art  of  house-building;  but  it 
came  about  because  the  art  of  house-building  ceased 
to  express  any  of  the  true  feelings  or  better  qualities 

of  the  householder,  because  it  misrepresented  him  to 

229 


230  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

himself,  and  because  he  was  not  content  to  be  so  mis- 
represented by  his  garden.  The  natural  tendency  of 
men  who  are  pleased  with  their  houses  is  to  plan  their 
gardens  to  suit  them.  Thus  in  other  countries  ugly 
formal  gardens  came  with  ugly  houses;  and  even  in 
England  the  man  who  likes  a  suburban  villa  will  sur- 
round it  with  a  villa  garden.  If  he  prefers  the  pre- 
tence of  a  villa  to  the  reality  of  a  cottage,  he  will  prefer 
an  iron  railing,  Calceolarias,  and  Geraniums  to  a  yew 
hedge  and  a  border  of  Larkspurs  and  Roses  and  Lilies. 
But  in  England  there  are  few  who  really  like  sub- 
urban villas,  and  even  the  artificial  taste  for  them  is 
found  chiefly  among  those  whose  education  has  been 
carried  only  so  far  as  to  make  them  distrust  all  their 
natural  tastes.  A  very  little  more  education  gives 
an  Englishman  confidence  in  his  natural  taste  for 
countrified  houses,  and  gardens  to  suit  them. 

But  in  the  eighteenth  century,  for  reasons  which 
we  still  find  it  difficult  to  understand,  the  English 
mind  reacted  in  most  things  against  its  natural  tastes 
and  instincts.  In  other  ages  we  have  excelled  more 
in  poetry  than  in  prose,  but  then  our  prose  was  better 
than  our  poetry.  We  are  a  country  rather  than  a 
town  people  by  nature;  but  then  we  aimed  at  a  town 
rather  than  a  country  civilization,  and  built  town 
houses  in  the  country,  whereas  at  other  times  we 
have  tended  rather  to  build  country  houses  in  the 
town.  But  all  through  the  eighteenth  century  the 
English  mind  was  uneasy  under  the  ideals  which  it 
had  imposed  upon  itself,  and  it  was  always  revolting 


THE  HOUSE  AND  THE  GARDEN   231 

in  different  directions  against  those  ideals.  Most  of 
these  revolts,  before  the  great  revolt  of  the  romantic 
movement  came,  took  the  form  of  some  kind  of  make- 
believe.  Landscape  gardening  was  one  of  those  re- 
volts, and  pastoral  poetry  was  another.  But,  whereas 
pastoral  poetry  was  almost  killed  by  the  revival  of 
the  real  poetry  of  nature,  landscape  gardening  per- 
sisted, because  the  continual  decline  of  the  art  of 
house-building  made  a  revival  of  the  true  art  of  gar- 
den design  impossible.  You  cannot  design  a  beautiful 
garden  to  suit  an  ugly  house;  and  therefore,  since 
houses  grew  uglier  and  uglier,  few  efforts  were  made 
to  design  gardens  to  suit  them.  Thus  gardens  did 
not  advance  beyond  the  pastoral  poetry  stage  of  re- 
volt against  ugliness  and  dulness.  They  expressed 
no  beautiful  realities  in  human  life,  but  only  a  dis- 
like of  ugly  realities.  So  far  they  were  a  sign  of  grace; 
but  it  was  a  negative  and  impotent  kind  of  grace. 
Men,  despairing  of  expressing  in  these  gardens  their 
own  minds  in  terms  of  beauty,  requested  nature  to 
express  herself,  and  did  all  they  could  to  get  out  of 
her  way.  Mr.  Mawson,  in  his  book  on  "The  Art  and 
Craft  of  Garden  Making,"  calls  this  helpless  fall- 
ing back  upon  nature  realism;  but  in  seeking  to  con- 
demn it  with  a  word  he  does  it  too  much  honour.  It 
is  a  kind  of  realism  that  will  not  face  realities,  the 
realism  of  conscientious  make-believe.  The  reality 
was  this,  that  men  could  no  longer  build  houses  in 
which  they  could  take  any  rational  kind  of  pleasure, 
or  which  expressed  any  pleasant  facts  about  their 


232  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

lives.  They  were  content  with  such  houses  as  they 
could  build,  but  not  with  gardens  to  suit  them.  Now, 
instead  of  seeing  that  the  true  remedy  was  to  build 
better  houses,  they  called  upon  nature  to  help  them 
to  forget  their  own  ugliness.  But,  in  matters  of  art, 
as  in  other  things,  nature  helps  those  who  help  them- 
selves. Landscape  gardening  has  had  its  successes, 
where  there  is  space  enough  to  make  a  landscape.  It 
has  brought  nothing  but  chaotic  ugliness  into  those 
gardens  which  are  so  small  that  they  must  be  all  fore- 
ground, and  must  bear  signs,  open  or  disguised,  of 
the  occupation  of  man.  But  now  we  are  once  again 
beginning  to  build  houses  in  which  we  can  take  a  ra- 
tional pleasure,  and  which  do  express  some  pleasant 
facts  about  our  lives;  and  it  is  significant  that  with 
these  houses  the  taste  for  formal  gardens  is  reviving. 
But  hi  these  days  every  revival  of  art  is  imme- 
diately endangered  by  fashion.  Fashion  is  essentially 
brainless;  it  understands  nothing  about  principles,  but 
seizes  upon  some  external  feature  of  a  reviving  art, 
reduces  it  to  an  absurdity  by  blind  exaggeration,  and 
so  quickly  gives  us  a  disgust  of  the  art  itself.  The  re- 
vival of  formal  gardening,  like  the  revival  of  house- 
building, is  in  some  danger  from  this  cause.  The 
best  houses  that  are  built  now  must  be  a  little  con- 
scious of  their  goodness.  There  are  so  many  things 
which  an  architect  must  learn  to  avoid  that  even 
when  he  manages  to  avoid  them  he  still  leaves  us 
aware  of  their  absence.  In  the  same  way  a  good 
modern  formal  garden,  planned  to  suit  a  good  modern 


THE  HOUSE  AND  THE  GARDEN   233 

house,  often  seems  conscious  of  its  formality,  and  to 
be  a  protest  against  the  idea  of  landscape  gardens. 
This  kind  of  self-consciousness,  an  inevitable  though 
undesirable  characteristic  of  a  reviving  art,  is  sure  to 
be  seized  upon  and  exaggerated  by  fashion.  The  more 
enterprising  suburban  builder  suddenly  discovers  that 
straight  paths  and  rows  of  Thuyas  are  the  thing;  and, 
since  they  are  as  cheap  as  winding  walks  and  shrub- 
beries, he  provides  them,  just  as  he  provides  houses 
with  a  fashionable  air  of  austerity  about  their  porches 
and  chimneys.  But  this  fashionable  formality  is  no 
more  satisfying  than  the  fashionable  austerity;  and 
people  whose  taste  is  made  by  fashion  will  soon  tire 
of  both.  There  could  be  no  more  signal  proof  of  the 
close  connexion  between  garden  design  and  house- 
building than  the  fact  that  a  sham  art  in  house-build- 
ing has  immediately  produced  a  sham  art  in  garden 
design  to  go  with  it.  The  essence  of  good  house-  ? 
building  is  that  the  facts  about  the  house  shall  be 
pleasantly  expressed.  It  must  make  no  pretensions 
to  be  anything  more  than  it  is,  and  it  must  also  make 
the  best  of  what  it  is,  like  a  well-mannered  man.  In 
the  same  way  the  essence  of  good  garden  design  is 
to  make  a  piece  of  ground  both  pleasant  and  useful 
without  attempting  to  conceal  its  nature,  its  limits, 
or  its  uses.  The  worst  excesses  of  landscape  gar- 
dening have  come  about  from  a  desire  to  make  gar- 
dens seem  larger  than  they  are;  and  landscape  gar- 
deners, in  the  vain  attempt  to  imitate  nature,  have 
too  often  forgotten  that  gardens  are  ever  used  for  any 


234  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

purpose  by  human  beings,  or  else  they  have  assumed 
that  nothing  useful  can  be  beautiful,  and  have  ig- 
nored use  in  their  pursuit  of  beauty. 

The  proper  problem  of  garden  design,  as  of  house- 
building, is  to  make  the  useful  beautiful;  but  it  is 
easier  in  garden  design,  because  the  uses  of  a  garden 
are  all  pleasant.  Pleasure  is  its  purpose;  and  so  its 
very  ornaments,  the  flowers,  are  objects  of  utility  in 
it.  But  we  shall  not  learn  how  to  arrange  them  or 
any  of  the  other  things  proper  to  a  garden  until  we 
regard  them  all  as  objects  of  utility  meant  for  the 
enjoyment  of  human  beings,  and  not  as  means  of 
making  the  garden  look  like  something  other  than 
what  it  was.  Trees  should  be  in  a  garden  to  give 
shade,  hedges  to  provide  shelter  or  to  serve  as  boun- 
daries, paths  to  provide  a  dry  passage  from  one  place 
to  another;  lawns  for  many  purposes  —  for  games, 
or  to  sit  on,  or  to  serve  as  a  foil  to  flowers;  and  flower- 
ing plants  for  ornament.  If  once  a  garden  is  thus 
conceived,  so  to  speak,  in  terms  of  utility,  just  as  a 
house  is  conceived  by  a  good  architect,  a  design  formal 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  word  seems  to  follow  as  a 
matter  of  course.  But,  just  as  there  is  all  the  differ- 
ence in  the  world  between  formality  in  architecture 
that  is  based  upon  utility  and  formality  that  is  the 
result  of  a  desire  to  be  formal,  so  it  is  with  formality 
in  gardens.  The  one  is  living,  the  other  is  dead;  the 
one  rational,  the  other  irrational.  A  straight  avenue 
of  pollarded  limes  is  an  instance  of  rational  formality. 
It  is  intended  for  a  shady  walk;  and  it  is  straight  be- 


THE  HOUSE  AND  THE  GARDEN      235 

cause  limes  so  arranged  give  the  most  continuous  shade 
and  because  straight  walks  are  the  most  direct.  An 
avenue  of  Thuyas  is  an  instance  of  irrational  formality. 
They  serve  no  useful  purpose.  They  are  mere  orna- 
ments, as  tiresome  in  their  meaningless  repetition  as 
the  obelisks  of  a  pompous  Baroque  building.  The 
motive  is  always  the  test  of  formality  in  garden  de- 
sign as  in  architecture,  and  of  informality  as  well  as. 
of  formality;  and  in  both  cases  irrational  or  vulgar 
motives  betray  themselves  at  once  to  the  expert,  and 
produce  some  vague  discomfort  even  in  the  inexpert. 
There  should  be  a  reason,  and  a  good  one,  for  every 
feature  in  a  garden  as  for  every  feature  in  a  house  — 
meaningless  irregularities  are  as  offensive  in  the  one 
as  in  the  other;  and  so  are  meaningless  formalities. 
Reasons,  of  course,  must  depend  upon  the  designer's' 
purpose;  and  some  purposes  make  more  for  beauty 
in  gardens  than  others.  We  may  rule  out  all  pur- 
poses of  mere  ostentation,  which  are  as  sure  to  pro- 
duce ugliness  in  the  garden  as  in  the  house.  We  may 
also  rule  out  the  purpose  of  imitating  nature,  as  being, 
except  on  the  outskirts  of  very  large  gardens,  both 
misguided  and  impracticable.  There  is  also  the  purely 
horticultural  purpose,  very  common  now,  which  may 
produce  much  beauty  of  detail,  but  will  not  produce 
a  beautiful  design.  Lastly,  there  is  the  purpose  of 
making  the  garden  a  pleasant  habitation  in  hours  of 
ease  and  fair  weather,  just  as  there  is  the  purpose  of 
making  the  house  a  pleasant  habitation  at  all  times. 
Only  with  this  purpose  can  a  garden  be  made  con- 


£36  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

sistently  beautiful  both  in  design  and  in  ornament, 
with  a  beauty  that  seems  to  ennoble  the  pleasures 
that  it  serves.  There  is  something  in  the  order  and 
quiet  of  a  beautiful  formal  garden,  in  its  perfect  recon- 
cilement of  nature  and  man,  which  gives  one  a  greater 
love  of  life,  and  this  is  just  the  same  feeling  that  one 
gets  from  the  enjoyment  of  a  beautiful  house.  Both 
seem  to  prove  that  man  is  not  a  mere  defacer  of  the 
world,  that  if  he  chooses  he  can  add  beauty  to  it,  even 
in  fulfilling  his  own  wants,  like  the  flowers  themselves. 
The  best  art  is  nearer  to  nature  than  any  attempt 
to  imitate  her,  because  it  comes  into  being,  like  her 
beauties,  for  some  purpose  outside  itself. 


THE   RIGHT   USE   OF   FLOWERING   SHRUBS 

IT  is  often  said  that  flowering  shrubs  are  too  little 
used  in  our  gardens;  and,  indeed,  considering 
their  number  and  beauty,  we  may  wonder  that  more 
is  not  made  of  them.  Yet  there  is  some  reason  for 
their  neglect,  for  of  all  the  ornaments  of  the  garden 
they  are  the  most  difficult  to  place  rightly.  We  are 
uncertain  whether  to  treat  them  as  shrubs  or  as  flowers. 
Many  of  them  cannot  be  used,  like  other  shrubs,  as 
a  foil  or  background  to  flowers,  since  they  have  too 
strong  an  interest  of  their  own  when  they  are  in  flower; 
and  when  they  go  out  of  flower  they  often  lack  the 
neatness  and  flourishing  air  of  other  shrubs.  They 
have  made  their  great  display,  beautiful  while  it  lasts 
but  often  short-lived,  and  when  it  is  over  they  have 
a  spent  look  like  herbaceous  plants  after  their  flower- 
ing time.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  difficult  to  treat 
most  of  them  as  flowering  plants  and  to  place  them 
among  other  flowering  plants  in  the  border,  because 
of  their  size  and  because  their  roots  rob  the  ground 
of  nourishment  and  moisture  which  the  other  plants 
need.  In  a  large  garden,  of  course,  they  may  be  placed 
by  themselves  in  great  shrubberies;  but  these  are 
seldom  satisfactory,  especially  when  they  consist  of 
many  kinds  of  shrubs.  It  is  far  more  difficult  to  make 

a  pleasant  arrangement  of  different  flowering  shrubs 

237 


238  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

than  of  different  herbaceous  plants.  The  units  of 
the  arrangement  are  so  large  that  any  intricate  inter- 
weaving of  colour  is  almost  impossible;  besides,  shrubs 
cannot  be  put  close  together  like  smaller  plants  with- 
out suffering  from  overcrowding.  Most  of  the  plants 
of  the  border  can  be  divided  when  they  grow  too 
thick  and  the  soil  may  then  be  redug  and  enriched. 
But  shrubs,  to  flourish,  must  be  left  alone.  You  can- 
not be  always  experimenting  with  new  combinations 
or  removing  the  smaller  shrubs  when  they  are  over- 
shadowed. Your  planting  must  be  made  once  and 
for  all;  and  without  the  power  of  frequent  experiment 
how  are  you  to  get  the  experience  necessary  for  skil- 
ful arrangement?  You  cannot  even  be  sure  of  profit- 
ing by  the  experience  of  others,  unless  their  condi- 
tions are  exactly  the  same  as  yours;  for  some  shrubs 
grow  apace  in  one  kind  of  soil  and  others  in  another; 
and  a  combination  that  succeeds  in  a  rich  loam  may 
be  a  failure  in  a  light  gravel.  Nothing  looks  so  miser- 
able in  a  garden  as  a  flowering  shrub  that  does  not 
thrive.  It  is  so  large  a  monument  of  failure  that  it 
may  poison  all  the  gardener's  pleasure  in  his  garden, 
and  one  sickly  shrub  will  mar  the  effect  of  a  whole 
shrubbery. 

Then  again,  the  very  number  and  diversity  of 
flowering  shrubs  are  apt  to  intimidate  the  gardener. 
There  are  so  many  that  he  would  like  to  have,  even 
among  those  quite  familiar  to  him,  that  he  does  not 
know  where  to  begin,  especially  if  his  garden  is  not 
very  large.  And  flowering  shrubs  have  such  different 


RIGHT  USE  OF  FLOWERING  SHRUBS    239 

associations.  An  Apple  tree  seems  to  belong  to  a 
different  world  from  a  Rhododendron,  and  a  Mag- 
nolia from  a  Hawthorn.  Associations  may  be  quite 
arbitrary  and  may  change  from  time  to  time;  but 
you  can  no  more  ignore  them  in  the  use  of  shrubs 
than  in  the  use  of  words.  There  are  some  shrubs  that 
always  have  an  exotic  look,  and  need  to  be  used  as 
discreetly  as  foreign  words  or  phrases.  You  cannot 
plant  them  without  incongruity  among  those  shrubs 
that  seem  to  belong  to  the  immemorial  past  of  our 
gardens.  Some  day,  perhaps,  the  hardy  Azaleas  will 
look  as  homely  as  a  Damask  Rose;  but  at  present  they 
still  seem  to  belong  to  the  Far  East,  so  closely  are 
they  associated  in  our  minds  with  Japanese  drawings 
and  decoration;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  find  plants  that 
will  combine  well  with  them. 

We  have  said  enough  to  show  that  the  problem  of 
flowering  shrubs  —  a  problem  at  once  horticultural 
and  aesthetic  —  is  peculiarly  difficult;  and  it  is  better 
not  to  use  them  at  all  than  to  use  them  badly,  especially 
in  the  formal  garden.  It  must  be  confessed  that 
formal  gardens,  so  far  as  flowering  shrubs  are  con- 
cerned, are  at  a  disadvantage  compared  with  wild 
or  even  with  ordinary  landscape  gardens.  The  best 
tradition  of  formal  gardening  was  developed  when 
there  were  but  few  flowering  shrubs,  and  it  afforded 
few  opportunities  for  the  use  of  them.  It  was  timid 
even  in  the  use  of  Roses,  the  chief  of  all  flowering 
shrubs;  and  now  that  there  are  so  many  Roses  that 
can  be  treated  as  true  flowering  shrubs  and  not  as 


240  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

mere  blossom-producing  machines,  we  are  not  likely 
to  be  content  with  any  timid  use  of  them.  Nor  can 
we  content  ourselves  with  a  timid  use  of  all  those 
earlier  flowering  shrubs  and  trees  which  make  the 
glory  of  late  spring  in  large  gardens,  and  in  garden 
cities  like  Oxford  with  Hawthorn  pink  and  white,  and 
Laburnum,  and  Lilac  and  the  Guelder  rose,  and  all 
the  Cherries,  and  Apples,  and  Plums.  We  cannot 
forgo  the  rapture  and  abundance  of  these  any  more 
than  we  can  forgo  the  innumerable  twinkling  of  Cro- 
cuses and  Squills  and  Daffodils  in  the  grass.  But  the 
question  remains,  how  are  we  to  have  them  without 
injuring  the  other  beauties  of  our  gardens;  and  that 
question  is  not  easy  to  answer.  Where  the  garden 
is  very  large  the  problem  is  easiest.  There,  flowering 
shrubs  may  be  planted  in  broad  masses  and  com- 
binations on  the  wilder  outskirts,  and  more  sparsely 
and  carefully  nearer  to  the  house.  An  occasional 
flowering  shrub  may  be  placed  with  artful  irregularity 
even  in  the  most  formal  parts  of  a  garden.  Nothing 
looks  better  than  a  single  Hawthorn  or  Laburnum 
placed,  as  if  by  accident,  in  the  corner  of  a  cloister, 
and  it  may  be  used  in  the  same  way  in  a  garden  close. 
But  there  must  be  no  regularity  in  the  planting  of 
such  things,  or  it  will  distract  the  eye  from  the  reg- 
ularity of  the  main  design.  To  plant  a  Hawthorn 
in  each  corner  of  a  cloister  or  a  garden  close  would 
be  a  fatal  absurdity.  What  is  needed  is  a  contrast 
between  the  general  order  and  symmetry  and  a  single 
beautiful  accident,  for  there  should  be  some  one  ap- 


RIGHT  USE  OF  FLOWERING  SHRUBS    £41 

parently  accidental  beauty  in  every  garden  design, 
however  formal,  as  in  every  picture,  however  sys- 
tematically composed.  Without  it  there  seems  to 
be  no  inspiration  and  no  spontaneity,  nothing  but 
a  timid  anxiety  for  correctness.  And  here,  perhaps, 
we  may  have  arrived  at  a  principle  for  the  use  of  the 
larger  and  nobler  flowering  trees  and  shrubs,  at  any 
rate  in  more  formal  and  confined  gardens.  They 
should  be  employed  not  systematically,  like  flowers 
or  shrubs  of  utility,  but  as  accidents  and  surprises, 
to  enliven  the  formality  of  the  whole.  Needless  to 
say,  they  must  be  so  employed  with  great  restraint. 
Accidents  and  surprises,  if  too  often  repeated,  lose 
their  effect.  But  the  difficulty  in  every  design  is  to 
combine  restraint  with  abundance,  to  know  where 
to  be  lavish  and  where  to  be  sparing.  Flowering 
shrubs  are  most  beautiful  objects,  at  any  rate,  when 
in  flower,  and  some  gardeners,  therefore,  are  tempted 
to  plant  them  in  abundance;  but  the  better  course 
seems  to  be,  at  least  in  small  or  formal  gardens,  to 
use  them  sparingly  in  combination  with  an  abundance 
of  herbaceous  and  other  flowering  plants.  There 
must  be  a  sacrifice  somewhere,  especially  nowadays, 
when  we  have  such  an  infinite  variety  of  all  kinds  of 
ornamental  plants;  and  the  sacrifice  should  be  made 
on  some  principle.  Now,  there  is  a  principle  in  the 
sparing  use  of  flowering  shrubs,  because  they  are,  as 
we  have  said,  too  large  for  units  in  any  ordered  com- 
bination, except  in  a  very  large  garden.  Therefore, 
they  should  be  used  as  accidents. 


STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

We  are  all  familiar  with  the  accidental  use  of  "orna- 
mental conifers"  in  landscape  gardens,  and  most  of 
us  are  tired  of  it.  It  is  usually  unhappy,  because 
these  conifers  are  too  formal  and  not  interesting  or 
beautiful  enough  in  themselves  for  such  a  use,  and 
also  because  single  accidents  are  superfluous  where 
everything  is  intended  to  look  accidental.  An  accident 
in  a  design  should  be  striking  and  beautiful  in  itself, 
and  should  be  used  to  correct  and  contrast  with  the 
general  formality  of  that  design.  Therefore,  shrubs 
or  trees  brilliant  in  their  flowers  and  informal  in  their 
growth  should  be  employed  for  that  purpose.  They 
should  contrast  in  every  respect  with  the  more  formal 
elements  of  the  design  that  will  serve  as  a  foil  to  them. 
Thus  evergreen  flowering  shrubs,  such  as  Berberis 
Darwinii  or  B.  stenophylla,  should  not  be  placed 
against  an  evergreen  background  such  as  a  yew  hedge. 
That  should  serve  as  a  foil  rather  to  some  deciduous 
tree  with  leafage  of  an  utterly  different  colour.  Noth- 
ing is  more  beautiful  in  a  garden  than  contrasts  of 
foliage,  where  they  occur  once  and  as  if  by  accident. 
Nothing  is  more  restless  and  wearisome  than  such 
contrasts  where  they  are  incessant  and  too  varied. 
Thus  a  mixed  shrubbery,  even  if  it  is  altogether  com- 
posed of  beautiful  flowering  shrubs,  is  seldom  beauti- 
ful as  a  whole.  The  items  seem  to  jostle  each  other 
and  to  compete  for  your  attention,  like  advertise- 
ments on  a  hoarding  or  pictures  at  an  exhibition, 
and  they  compete  most  violently  when  they  are  in 
flower  together  and  in  their  fullest  beauty.  But  a 


RIGHT  USE  OF  FLOWERING  SHRUBS    243 

single  flowering  shrub  rightly  placed  in  front  of  a 
dark  barrier  of  greenery  has  your  eye  to  itself  and 
satisfies  it,  like  an  altarpiece  in  a  quiet  church.  Nor 
does  it  compete  with  any  border  of  flowers  near  it, 
for  their  beauty  is  on  a  different  scale  and  of  a  dif- 
ferent order.  But  in  a  large  garden  formally  designed 
there  may  be  a  greater  abundance  of  flowering  shrubs 
than  is  possible  with  this  accidental  use  of  them,  if 
only  they  are  arranged  in  an  orderly  fashion  and 
without  too  great  variety.  The  best  Rose  gardens 
give  us  hints  for  the  treatment  of  other  flowering 
shrubs  by  which  we  have  not  yet  profited  much. 
There  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  have  shrubberies 
arranged  like  roseries,  not  in  a  thicket  all  struggling 
together  for  life  and  notice,  but  widely  spaced  at 
regular  intervals  and  with  regular  repetitions  and 
alternations.  In  such  a  shrubbery  only  a  few  kinds 
should  be  planted.  Harmony  and  simplicity,  rather 
than  variety,  should  be  aimed  at,  and  the  different 
shrubs  should  be  chosen  so  as  to  agree  or  contrast 
well  together  in  the  colour  and  character  of  their 
foliage  and  in  their  habit  of  growth,  and  also  to  pro- 
vide a  succession  of  bloom.  Lower  growing  shrubs 
might  be  placed  between  the  taller  ones,  just  as  dwarf 
Roses  fill  up  the  spaces  in  a  rosery  between  the  oc- 
casional great  Pillar  Roses.  Thus  a  shrubbery  with 
pink  Hawthorn  and  the  tallest  Philadelphus  (Syringa) 
alternating  at  regular  intervals  might  be  filled  up 
with  masses  of  Lavender  and  Cytisus  praecox.  But 
the  possible  combinations  of  such  a  shrubbery  are 


244  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

innumerable,  and  we  only  mention  this  one  as  an 
example.  When  the  taller  shrubs  are  straight  and 
aspiring  in  their  growth,  those  in  between  should  be 
of  a  more  spreading  and  bushy  habit;  and  these 
smaller  shrubs  should  be  planted  as  close  together 
and  be  encouraged  to  grow  as  evenly  as  possible. 
The  ground  must  be  well  covered  at  all  costs,  and  all 
the  shrubs  must  thrive,  or  else  the  effect  will  be  more 
ragged  even  than  in  the  ordinary  mixed  shrubbery. 
There  is  no  reason  why  some  of  the  tall  Pillar  Roses 
should  not  have  their  place  in  such  an  arrangement, 
alternating  with  Lilacs  or  some  of  the  taller  Spiraeas. 
Nothing  can  look  better  than  pillars  of  Dorothy  Per- 
kins encircled  with  Lavender  or  some  other  low-grow- 
ing glaucous-leaved  shrub.  Where  there  are  spaces 
between  the  smaller  shrubs  they  may  be  filled  with 
masses  of  German  Irises  or  Pinks  or  any  other  plant 
that  keeps  some  of  its  beauty  all  the  year.  But  in 
any  case  the  shrubs,  whether  massed  or  single,  should 
be  regular  in  their  arrangement  and  but  little  varied 
in  kind. 

The  use  of  shrubs  about  a  lawn  is  a  very  difficult 
problem,  especially  in  landscape  gardens  where  there 
is  no  formal  or  quiet  background  to  serve  as  a  foil  for 
them.  Shrubs  seldom  look  well  when  they  are  planted 
at  regular  intervals  about  a  lawn,  especially  if  they 
are  at  all  stiff  or  formal  in  habit.  On  the  other  hand, 
single  shrubs  dotted  here  and  there  are  apt  to  seem 
pointless  and  forlorn;  and  so  are  beds  of  low-growing 
shrubs  such  as  Rhododendrons  or  Azaleas.  These 


RIGHT  USE  OF  FLOWERING  SHRUBS    245 

need  a  background  of  quiet  greenery  and  some  place 
that  seems  to  be  made  for  them,  not  cut  out  arbitrarily 
from  a  great  expanse  of  grass.  They  should,  therefore, 
always  be  on  the  outskirts  of  a  lawn  and  in  some  bay 
encircled  with  taller  shrubs  or  trees.  Then  they  may 
have  a  splendid  effect  when  in  flower.  Of  the  larger 
shrubs  the  best  for  the  lawn  are  those  which  become 
small  trees  in  time,  such  as  Hawthorns,  Judas  trees, 
and  Apples.  It  is  strange  that  Apple  trees  should  so 
seldom  be  planted  anywhere  except  in  the  kitchen  gar- 
den. Apart  from  their  use,  they  are,  perhaps,  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  flowering  shrubs,  and  peculiarly 
suitable  by  reason  of  their  spreading  growth,  for 
planting  on  the  outskirts  of  a  lawn.  Where  a  lawn 
is  very  large  it  would  be  well  to  have  an  irregularly 
arranged  orchard  or  grove  of  Hawthorns  at  the  end 
of  it;  and  even  where  it  is  smaller  a  few  Apple  trees 
or  Hawthorns  planted  together  would  in  time  make 
a  pleasant  shade,  and  serve  as  an  agreeable  transition 
to  some  other  part  of  the  garden.  But,  as  we  have 
said,  the  problem  of  flowering  shrubs  is  a  very  dif- 
ficult one;  and  we  do  not  now  pretend  to  do  more 
than  explain  the  nature  of  its  difficulties  and  offer  a 
few  suggestions  for  dealing  with  them. 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS 


A  LARGE  book  full  of  poetry  and  curious  learn- 
ing might  be  written  about  the  associations  of 
flowers;  and  there  are  few  of  us,  at  least  among  those 
who  care  much  for  flowers,  who  can  think  of  them 
apart  from  their  associations.  In  this  respect,  as  we 
remarked  lately,  they  are  like  words.  Some  are  de- 
graded by  their  associations  and  others  exalted.  Some 
are  connected  with  history  and  the  poetry  of  the  past, 
others  only  with  bad  fashions  and  foolish  pretensions 
of  the  present.  Compare,  for  instance,  the  associa- 
tions of  Iris  florentina,  the  true  Flower  de  luce,  with 
those  of  the  ordinary  yellow  Calceolaria.  The  Iris 
is  certainly  more  beautiful  than  the  Calceolaria. 
But  it  is  also  the  Lily  of  France.  It  has  been  embroi- 
dered upon  banners,  and  painted  upon  coats  of  arms. 
It  has  led  men  into  many  victories,  and  now  it  is  the 
symbol  of  a  lost  cause.  But  the  poor  Calceolaria  is 
merely  the  symbol  of  a  discredited  fashion  in  gar- 
dening. We  can  scarcely  see  it  without  thinking  of 
its  complementary  yet  discordant  associates,  Gera- 
niums and  Lobelias,  just  as  we  cannot  see  the  words 
transpire  or  phenomenal,  even  when  they  are  rightly 
used,  without  thinking  of  the  manner  in  which  they 

have  been  misused  by  bad  writers.    The  associations 

246 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS     247 

of  some  words  make  them  impossible  for  poetry,  and 
the  associations  of  some  flowers  are  apt  to  exclude 
them  from  the  borders  of  imaginative  gardeners. 

No  doubt  it  is  easy  to  be  too  fastidious  about  as- 
sociations. A  language  becomes  impoverished  when 
its  writers  will  run  no  risks  in  their  use  of  words,  when 
they  are  more  careful  not  to  offend  a  pampered  taste 
than  to  express  their  meaning  at  all  costs;  and  so 
a  gardener  may  think  too  much  of  the  associations 
of  his  flowers  and  be  concerned  rather  with  the  past 
than  with  the  future.  For  after  all  flowers,  like  words, 
when  they  have  been  degraded  by  a  bad  use,  may 
be  ennobled  by  a  good  one.  The  little  blue  Lobelia 
does  not  deserve  to  be  banished  from  our  gardens 
because  it  has  been  so  often  discordantly  combined 
with  Calceolarias  and  Geraniums.  It  is  not  the  native 
of  a  ribbon  border,  and,  no  doubt,  if  we  had  only 
seen  it  growing  wild  in  South  Africa  we  should  recog- 
nize its  beauty.  In  this  respect  flowers  have  an  ad- 
vantage over  words.  They  are  not  made  by  men  to 
begin  with,  and,  therefore,  cannot,  like  some  words, 
be  condemned  to  ugliness  and  base  uses  from  the 
first.  Some  of  them  are  so  capable  of  transformation 
that,  in  their  garden  forms,  they  may  become  posi- 
tively ugly;  but  few,  if  any,  are  positively  ugly  by 
nature.  It  is  only  misuse,  and  the  associations  of 
misuse,  that  make  them  seem  ugly  to  those  who  have 
never  seen  them  rightly  used. 

There  are  some  plants,  especially  those  of  the  des- 
ert, that  can  scarcely  be  rightly  used  in  our  gardens. 


248  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

But  these  we  can  do  without.  There  are  others  that 
a  gardener  may  take  a  pride  in  delivering  from  the 
associations  of  misuse  and  in  treating  so  skilfully 
that  their  beauty  will  surprise  those  who  have  only 
seen  them  maltreated.  Plants  that  deserve  such 
deliverance  and  to  get  associations  more  worthy  of 
their  beauty  are,  besides  Lobelias,  the  garden  Hya- 
cinths, the  early  Tulips,  Echeverias,  and  other  plants 
associated  with  carpet  bedding,  and  even  Geraniums 
and  Calceolarias.  But  we  have  said  enough  about 
the  unpleasant  associations  of  flowers.  They  nearly 
all  come  from  misuse,  and  will  quickly  disappear 
when  misuse  ceases. 

Yet  there  are  some  plants  that  have  associations, 
evil  and  sinister  rather  than  merely  unpleasant,  plants 
that  belong  to  the  romance  of  malign  enchantment 
and  about  which  legends  have  gathered  that  we  can- 
not forget  when  we  look  at  them.  The  chief  of  these 
in  England  is  the  Deadly  Nightshade,  Atropa  bella- 
donna, which  has  every  sinister  quality.  It  is  rare 
and  looks  as  poisonous  as  it  is,  and  it  grows  usually 
about  old  ruins  and  deserted  houses.  Its  names, 
both  English  and  Latin,  prove  how  much  it  has  im- 
pressed the  imagination  of  men.  It  is  the  viper  among 
plants,  and  one  might  expect  a  viper  to  lie  in  ambush 
in  its  shadow.  Indeed  it  is  often  associated  with  ser- 
pents in  allegorical  pictures.  Other  plants  of  the 
same  family  are  scarcely  less  sinister.  The  Henbane, 
for  instance,  is  apt,  like  the  Deadly  Nightshade,  to 
grow  about  ruins  and  deserted  houses;  and,  though 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS     249 

it  has  a  curious  beauty  of  its  own,  it  looks  scarcely 
less  sinister  than  the  Nightshade,  with  its  coarse 
hairy  leaves  and  dingy  purple  netted  flowers.  It 
also  has  an  evil  smell.  It  is  strange  that  these  plants 
should  have  habits  so  consistent  with  their  appear- 
ance. A  rationalist  might  say  that  we  have  come  to 
think  they  look  sinister  because  of  the  places  where 
we  usually  find  them.  But  they  would  look  sinister 
in  a  spring  meadow  or  a  cottage  garden.  And  there 
is  no  doubt  that,  like  Nettles,  they  have  a  curious 
affection  for  places  once  occupied  and  now  deserted 
by  man.  They  are  parasites  that  come  with  ruin 
and  neglect.  They  seem  to  thrive  best  either  where 
man  no  longer  thrives  or  where  he  has  never  been; 
and,  perhaps,  when  the  famous  New  Zealander  con- 
templates the  ruins  of  St.  Paul's  he  will  find  the  streets 
of  London  overgrown,  not  with  grass,  but  with  Hen- 
bane and  Deadly  Nightshade. 

A  still  more  famous  relation  of  Henbane,  the  Man- 
drake or  Mandragora,  is  now  much  less  familiar  to 
us.  In  Mr.  Robinson's  "English  Flower  Garden"  it 
is  dismissed  as  "suitable  mainly  for  botanical  collec- 
tions." But  Parkinson  treated  it  with  the  respect 
due  to  a  plant  renowned  in  literature  and  legend. 
He  speaks  of  the  heady  or  strong  stuffing  smell  of  its 
apples,  and  says  that  he  has  often  transplanted  Man- 
drakes, "but  never  found  harm  by  so  doing,  as  many 
idle  tales  have  been  set  down  in  writing,  and  delivered 
also  by  report,  of  much  danger  to  happen  to  such  as 
should  dig  them  up  or  break  them."  And  he  adds, 


250  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

"Neither  have  I  ever  seen  any  form  of  man-like  or 
woman-like  parts  in  the  roots  of  any.  ...  But 
many  cunning  counterfeit  roots  have  been  shaped 
to  such  forms  and  publicly  exposed  to  the  view  of 
all  that  would  see  them."  He  does  not  even  men- 
tion the  fable  that  the  Mandrake  shrieks  when  pulled 
up  by  the  roots.  Its  fame  still  survives  in  literature 
from  the  Book  of  Genesis  to  Othello  and  that  strange 
poem  of  Donne's  that  begins: — 

Go  and  catch  a  falling  star, 
Get  with  child  a  mandrake  root. 

But  its  fame  has  almost  outlived  the  plant  itself,  so 
far  as  our  gardens  are  concerned,  and  many  gardeners 
would  not  recognize  it  if  they  saw  it.  It  has  so  little 
beauty  that  now,  when  it  is  no  longer  used  as  a  medi- 
cine, it  could  only  be  grown  as  a  curiosity. 

The  pleasant  associations  of  flowers  are  of  several 
different  kinds,  and  have  much  effect  upon  their  treat- 
ment in  gardens.  Thus  we  naturally  associate  the 
most  beautiful  of  our  native  wildflowers  with  wild 
places.  There  is  no  reason  in  the  nature  of  things 
why  Primroses  and  the  English  Daffodil  and  Blue- 
bells should  not  be  grown  in  the  border;  yet  their 
beauty  seems  to  us  to  be  lessened  by  putting  them 
there  because  we  think  of  them  as  a  part  of  the  beauty 
of  the  woods  or  meadows.  The  Daffodil,  even  in  its 
most  elaborate  garden  forms,  is  still  for  us  a  meadow 
flower  because  of  its  likeness  to  the  Wild  Daffodil. 
But  the  Pheasant-eye  Narcissus  is  not,  because,  al- 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS 

though  meadows  are  full  of  it  in  Switzerland,  we  have 
no  form  of  it  that  grows  wild  in  our  fields. 

There  are  many  plants  that  have  not  been  de- 
veloped by  the  florists  which  we  think  of  only  as  gar- 
den plants  because  we  have  never  seen  them  growing 
wild.  We  could  scarcely  imagine,  for  instance,  a 
wild  Madonna  Lily.  The  very  name,  which,  by- 
the-by,  is  quite  modern,  associates  it  not  only  with 
man,  but  with  the  art  of  man.  It  appears  in  many 
famous  pictures  of  the  Virgin,  from  the  Annunciation 
of  Fra  Angelico  to  that  of  Rossetti.  But  nowhere 
perhaps  is  it  so  beautifully  used  as  in  Lippo  Lippi's 
Coronation,  where  the  white  flowers  shine  above  the 
attendant  angels  against  the  blue  background. 

These  Lilies  are  just  the  same  as  those  which  grow 
in  our  gardens  now;  but  few  of  our  modern  Roses 
are  much  like  those  which  are  blown  by  Zephyrus 
upon  Botticelli's  new  risen  Venus.  They  are  small 
and  rather  prim  in  the  arrangement  of  their  petals. 
They  have  no  thorns,  and  if  Botticelli  painted  them 
from  a  particular  model  it  may  have  been  from  the 
thornless  Rose  described  by  Parkinson.  But  to  judge 
by  most  old  pictures  of  Roses  primness  was  once  con- 
sidered a  virtue  in  them  as  in  Dahlias  and  Columbines. 
Perhaps  now  we  have  gone  too  far  the  other  way. 
At  any  rate,  our  modern  Roses  have  utterly  out- 
grown all  the  old  artistic  associations  of  the  flower; 
and  the  Tudor  Rose  does  not  seem  to  belong  to  our 
gardens  like  the  Fleur-de-lys.  The  new  Roses,  whether 
hybrid  perpetuals  or  teas  or  ramblers,  have  yet  to 


STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

make  their  artistic  associations  almost  as  much  as 
Orchids  or  any  novel  species  of  Primula  or  Poppy 
just  imported  from  the  East.  True,  they  have  been 
painted  by  Fantin  Latour  and  other  skilful  artists; 
but  a  flower  is  not  thoroughly  at  home  in  art  until 
it  has  been  conventionalized  for  decoration,  until 
we  have  in  our  houses,  not  mere  representations  of 
it  in  a  frame,  but  the  flower  itself  tamed  without  loss 
of  character  into  a  beautiful  pattern.1  Then,  indeed,  it 
becomes  a  part  of  our  lives,  as  wild  flowers  are  a  part 
of  the  life  of  the  earth.  But  it  must  be  very  familiar 
to  us  and  very  much  beloved  before  it  can  be  so  tamed. 
A  designer  cannot  take  any  flower  he  chooses  and 
make  a  pattern  of  it,  or  at  least  one  that  will  please 
us  for  long.  Such  patterns  must  grow  and  be  per- 
fected under  the  hands  of  many  different  designers; 
and  the  flowers  of  which  they  are  composed  must 
be  chosen  by  the  consent  of  the  world,  like  the  flowers 
familiar  in  poetry  or  legend  or  the  figurative  speech 
of  men.  Indeed,  we  may  compare  the  decorative 
use  of  flowers  with  those  felicitous  names  which  they 
only  get  when  they  have  been  familiar  and  beloved 
for  centuries,  and  which  we  find  it  impossible  to  fix 
upon  even  the  most  beautiful  of  new  flowers;  and 
just  as  the  very  abundance  of  new  flowers  makes  it 
more  difficult  for  us  now  to  find  good  English  names 
for  them,  so  it  makes  it  more  difficult  for  us  to  employ 


1  Remarkable  illustrations  of  the  last  phrase  of  this  foregoing  sentence  are 
found  in  Foord's  "Decorative  Flower  Studies,"  Batsford,  London,  1901. 
L.  Y.  K. 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS     253 

them  in  decoration.  There  are  so  many  competitors 
for  our  affections  that  we  are  bewildered  among  them; 
and  before  any  associations  have  gathered  about  one 
novelty  we  are  distracted  to  another.  We  have  no 
right  to  complain  of  our  riches,  and  no  doubt  in  time 
the  novelties  will  be  exhausted,  and  only  the  best  of 
them  will  be  kept.  Then  they  will  begin  to  gather 
associations  about  them  and  to  get  beautiful  names, 
and  to  pass  into  decoration  and  poetry  and  legend. 
But  at  present  it  would  be  almost  as  difficult  to  make 
a  good  pattern  out  of  Incarvillea  Delavayi,  beautiful 
as  it  is,  as  to  introduce  its  name  into  poetry.  The 
flower,  like  the  name,  has  no  associations  for  us  yet; 
we  admire,  but  do  not  love  it.  It  must  grow  in  our 
gardens  for  a  long  while  before  its  image  can  grow  in 
our  minds;  and  decoration  is  made  of  mental  images 
rather  than  of  imitations  of  particular  objects.  In 
the  same  way  the  felicitous  names  of  flowers  express 
ideas  of  flowers  that  have  grown  up  in  men's  minds 
slowly  and  with  long  association.  No  doubt  they  are 
often  invented  in  a  happy  flash  of  fancy;  sometimes 
they  are  expressive  corruptions  of  an  inexpressive 
original;  but  in  any  case  they  are  not  accepted  un- 
less they  express  the  common  idea  of  a  flower.  And 
that  idea  is  made,  not  only  by  the  peculiar  character 
of  its  beauty,  but  by  all  the  associations  and  the 
romance  that  have  gathered  about  it,  not  only  by 
its  own  life,  but  by  its  connexion  with  the  life  of  men. 
We  cannot  tell  why  this  connexion  should  be  estab- 
lished more  in  the  case  of  some  flowers  than  of  others 


254  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

that  seem  to  be  equally  beautiful  and  are  equally 
familiar,  or  why  some  flowers  that  have  had  felicitous 
names  in  the  past  have  lost  them  now.  We  can  only 
note  that  it  is  so;  and,  having  made  these  general 
remarks,  we  propose  to  treat  the  subject  in  more  de- 
tail in  another  article. 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS 

II 

Although  we,  as  a  nation,  have  a  strong  love  of 
flowers,  yet  they  do  not  mean  as  much  to  us  as  they 
mean  to  the  Japanese,  or,  at  any  rate,  we  do  not  man- 
age to  express  our  love  for  them  as  systematically  or 
as  clearly  as  the  Japanese.  It  is,  of  course,  a  defect 
of  our  modern  life  that  we  do  not  manage  to  express 
anything  very  systematically  or  clearly.  Indeed,  we 
rather  take  a  pride  in  being  inarticulate;  and  not 
only  in  ordinary  speech  but  in  all  our  manners  and 
actions  we  conceal  our  deeper  feelings,  whereas  the 
Japanese,  for  all  their  Oriental  composure  and  sup- 
pression of  transitory  and  individual  emotions,  have 
elaborated  a  ritual  for  the  expression  of  emotions  and 
tastes  that  are  national  and  persistent.  Flowers  for 
them  are  not  merely  toys  or  ornaments.  It  is  impos- 
sible, probably,  for  any  European  to  understand  all 
that  flowers  mean  to  them  and  how  far  they  love 
them  for  their  own  sake  or  how  far  as  symbols,  chosen 
by  reason  of  their  beauty,  of  certain  qualities  which 
they  cultivate  as  carefully  as  the  flowers  themselves. 
Flowers,  such  as  the  Cherry  blossom,  the  Iris,  the 
Pseony,  and  the  Chrysanthemum,  have  for  them  as- 
sociations so  ancient  and  so  strong  that  in  the  in- 

255 


256  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

dividual  blossom  they  must  always  see  the  type,  with 
all  that  it  implies  to  them,  not  merely  of  beauty,  but 
of  virtues  which  seem  to  them  beautiful,  and  which 
they  try  to  produce  as  naturally  and  inevitably  as  a 
plant  bears  its  flowers.  Even  if  we  know  nothing  of 
their  life  and  language,  we  can  tell  from  their  art  how 
intimately  flowers  must  be  connected  with  their  lives; 
for  in  that  art  flowers  are  almost  as  prominent  as  the 
human  form  in  the  art  of  the  Greeks.  And  just  as, 
in  Greek  art,  the  human  form  is  simplified  into  types 
without  loss  of  character,  so  in  Japanese  art  flowers 
are  simplified  into  types  without  loss,  indeed  rather 
with  emphasis,  of  character.  This  kind  of  simplifica- 
tion cannot  be  achieved  without  a  great  knowledge 
and  love  of  the  object  simplified.  Nor  can  it  be  achieved 
by  an  individual,  but  only  by  a  succession  of  artists 
working  for  a  public  very  familiar  with  the  subject 
matter  of  their  art.  It  means  that  artists  and  public 
alike  have  mental  images  of  their  subject  matter  com- 
posed of  all  those  qualities  in  it  which  have  most 
significance  for  them  and  continually  strengthened 
and  enriched  by  a  disinterested  study  of  nature. 

One  has  only  to  compare  the  illustrations  in  an 
English  and  Japanese  flower  catalogue  to  see  how 
strong  are  the  Japanese  mental  images  of  flowers, 
and  how  weak  are  the  English.  The  English  illus- 
trations, whether  from  drawings  or  from  photographs, 
are  representations  of  individual  flowers  and  nothing 
more.  The  Japanese,  though  they  have  just  as  much 
individuality  and  far  more  character,  insist  upon  the 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS     257 

flowers'  typical  beauty.  One  can  see  that  even  to 
the  humble  artist  of  the  catalogue  these  flowers  are 
familiar,  not  as  mere  objects  of  commerce,  but  as 
elements  of  his  own  life,  and  that  in  painting  them 
he  has  been  concerned,  not  merely  with  the  indif- 
ferent representation  of  facts,  but  with  the  expression 
of  feelings  common  to  his  race.  Thus  even  he,  work- 
ing with  a  professedly  commercial  object,  has  com- 
mand of  a  tradition  which  is  altogether  wanting  to 
the  best  European  flower  painters,  and  which  was 
wanting  also  to  the  Dutch  flower  painters  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  They,  with  all  their  skill,  painted 
like  florists  and  for  a  nation  of  florists.  One  can  see 
that  they  belonged  to  a  people  who  thought  of  flowers 
rather  as  ornaments  for  the  house  than  as  having  an 
independent  life  of  their  own.  In  their  pictures  the 
flowers  are  always  composed  into  elaborate  nosegays, 
autumn,  summer,  and  spring  flowers  all  mixed  to- 
gether. They  communicate  to  us  no  sense  of  their 
growth.  They  are  interested  only  in  the  individual 
blossom,  not  in  the  plant;  and  their  favourite  dewdrop 
is  intended  rather  as  a  touch  of  realism  and  a  proof 
of  skill  than  as  a  suggestion  that  the  flowers  have 
ever  grown  out  of  doors.  But  the  Japanese  flower 
painters,  even  the  catalogue  artists,  treat  flowers  like 
landscape  painters  rather  than  like  florists.  They 
may  show  us  only  a  few  blossoms,  but  they  seem  to 
be  growing  in  the  open  air.  They  always  insist  as 
much  on  the  character  and  growth  of  the  whole  plant 
as  on  the  beauty  of  individual  flowers;  and  it  is  plain 


258  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

that  they  have  studied  the  plant  as  it  grew,  and  not 
merely  its  flowers  picked  and  arranged  in  a  nosegay. 

The  Japanese  are  great  gardeners,  but  they  have 
never  become  florists,  partly  perhaps  because  most  of 
their  flowers  are  indigenous,  and  they  are  used  to  see 
the  types  of  even  their  most  elaborate  garden  flowers 
growing  wild;  but  chiefly  because  the  very  life  of 
flowers  is  sacred  and  significant  to  them  almost  as 
human  life  is  to  us.  No  doubt  these  two  reasons  are 
connected  with  each  other.  For  we  are  much  more 
ready  to  play  tricks  with  exotic  than  with  native 
flowers;  we  take  much  more  pleasure  in  the  whole 
life  and  growth  of  a  Primrose  or  of  a  Bluebell  than 
in  the  life  and  growth  of  a  Dahlia  or  of  Lilium  Aura- 
turn.  The  Japanese  have  a  great  advantage  over  us 
in  the  splendour  and  variety  of  their  native  flora. 
Flowers  must  make  a  great  appeal  to  the  imagination 
of  any  one  where  Lilium  Auratum  is  to  be  found  grow- 
ing wild;  and  there  must  be  little  temptation  there 
to  make  a  sharp  division  between  wild  and  garden 
flowers  or  to  treat  garden  flowers  as  utterly  artificial 
things.  It  may  well  be  that  the  splendour  of  the  native 
flora  has  had  a  most  powerful  influence  upon  Japanese 
art,  and  even  that  it  has  made  the  Japanese  an  artistic 
people.  However  that  may  be,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  the  great  part  which  flowers  play  both  in  their 
life  and  in  their  art.  And  their  flowers  are  so  closely 
connected  with  their  art  that  even  for  us  they  are 
most  strongly  associated  with  it.  Every  one  will 
have  noticed  how  many  Japanese  flowers  seem  to 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS     259 

have  a  peculiar  Japanese  character;  and  how  by 
reason  of  that  character  they  have  a  foreign  look  in 
our  gardens.  The  explanation  of  this  must  be,  not 
that  they  come  from  a  very  distant  country,  but  that 
they  are  associated  with  an  art  utterly  different  from 
our  own,  so  different  that,  however  much  we  may 
admire  and  imitate  it,  it  still  remains  strange  and 
unreal  to  us.  And  thus  Japanese  flowers,  beautiful 
as  they  are  and  in  many  cases  easily  grown  in  our 
gardens,  are  apt  to  look  strange  and  unreal  to  us. 
They  seem  not  works  of  nature,  but  the  products  of 
a  fantastic  Oriental  mind.  The  Japanese  have  made 
decoration  of  their  flowers  with  so  little  elimination 
or  perversion  of  fact  that  the  flowers  themselves  seem 
to  us  to  be  decoration,  of  an  utterly  alien  kind,  even 
when  they  are  growing  in  our  gardens  or  half  wild 
in  our  woods.  The  hardy  azaleas  are  grown  every- 
where now,  but  there  is  still  something  in  their  beauty 
that  is  incongruous  with  our  English  gardens;  and 
there  is  the  same  incongruity  in  nearly  all  Japanese 
shrubs  which  flower  before  their  leaves  are  fully  out, 
particularly  in  the  early  flowering  magnolias.  It  is 
a  curious  fact  that  even  Japanese  flowers  which  are 
not  familiar  to  us  in  Japanese  art,  such  as  the  Platy- 
codon,  have  a  Japanese  look;  and  that  the  Funkias 
or  Plantain  Lilies  which  have  been  so  long  in  our  gar- 
dens still  seem  to  belong  to  a  different  world  from 
that  of  the  Larkspurs  and  Phloxes  and  other  border 
plants  commonly  associated  with  them.  These  plants 
have  certain  qualities  of  texture  and  form  upon  which 


260  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

the  Japanese  are  apt  to  insist  in  their  decorative 
treatment  of  flowers;  and  thus  we  seem  to  see  Japanese 
art  in  the  plants  themselves,  so  strong  is  the  influence 
of  that  art  upon  our  minds. 

But  however  much  we  may  admire  and  imitate  it, 
it  is  not  our  art,  and  we  cannot  make  it  ours.  Fa- 
miliarity with  it  only  makes  the  things  most  commonly 
represented  in  it  seem  the  more  foreign  to  us.  If  it 
were  not  for  Japanese  art  many  Japanese  plants 
would  now  seem  quite  homely  to  us  which  we  still 
find  incongruous  with  the  ordinary  plants  of  our  gar- 
dens, and  which  for  that  reason  we  cannot  love  as 
much  as  we  admire  them.  Beauty  is  not  the  only 
quality  for  which  we  love  a  flower.  The  very  fact 
that  flowers  are  the  most  beautiful  objects  in  nature 
makes  their  associations  so  powerful  that  often  these 
associations  gather  between  us  and  the  flower  itself, 
so  that  we-  cannot  see  it  exactly  as  it  is  but  only  through 
its  associations.  Often,  of  course,  they  are  connected 
not  only  with  its  appearance,  but  with  its  scent,  and 
the  sense  of  smell  calls  up  associations  more  quickly 
than  the  sense  of  sight.  But  for  its  scent,  Mignonette 
would  be  a  mere  curiosity,  and  grown  only  in  botanical 
collections.  Bluebells  are  beautiful  flowers,  but  it  is 
their  scent  even  more  than  their  beauty  that  evokes 
for  us  all  the  delight  of  woods  in  May,  the  songs  of 
birds  and  the  whisper  of  leaves  in  the  wind,  as  well 
as  the  coloured  light  and  shadow.  And  it  is  the  faint 
odour  of  Primroses  which  most  powerfully  reminds 
us  of  the  mossy  places  in  which  they  grow  and  of  the 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS 

cool  and  fitful  weather  of  their  flowering  time.  In 
fact,  scent  is  to  sight  what  poetry  is  to  painting;  less 
definite  but  far  wider  in  its  power,  moving  us  more 
by  association  than  by  a  direct  appeal,  enriching  the 
present  not  merely  with  visions  but  with  sounds  and 
emotions  of  the  past,  and  seeming  to  involve  all  the 
other  senses  and  the  mind  as  well  in  one  complex  de- 
light. 

It  may  be  that  our  sense  of  smell  is  growing  less 
acute.  Certainly  we  seem  to  lay  less  store  by  scented 
flowers  than  our  ancestors  used  to  do,  to  judge  by 
their  writings.  Bacon  is  not  often  a  poetical  writer, 
but  when  he  speaks  of  the  scent  of  flowers  he  writes, 
though  in  prose,  like  Shakespeare  himself.  The  breath 
of  flowers,  he  says,  is  far  sweeter  in  the  air  (where  it 
comes  and  goes  like  the  warbling  of  music)  than  in 
the  hand.  There  are  many  people  now  who  never 
notice  that  a  flower  is  scented  at  all  unless  it  is  thrust 
under  their  noses.  Then  the  list  which  he  gives  of 
flowers  that  are  fast  of  their  smells  and  of  those  which 
yield  them  to  the  air  proves  that  he  was  curious  in 
this  matter.  He  notes,  for  instance,  that  Strawberry 
leaves  dying  yield  a  most  excellent  cordial  smell;  and 
that  Burnet,  Wild  Thyme,  and  Water-Mint  perfume 
the  air  most  delightfully,  not  passed  by  as  the  rest, 
but  being  trodden  upon  and  crushed.  "Therefore 
you  are  to  set  whole  allies  of  them,  to  have  the  pleasure, 
when  you  walk  or  tread."  Parkinson,  too,  is  often 
very  elaborate  and  exact  in  his  description  of  scents, 
whether  sweet  or  foul;  and  far  more  plants  were 


262  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

grown  in  the  past  for  their  scent  alone  than  are  grown 
now.  Indeed,  we  have  become  so  indifferent  to  scent 
and  all  its  delightful  associations,  that  it  is  scarcely 
considered  a  fault  in  a  new  Rose  or  Carnation  that 
it  should  be  scentless. 

It  may  be  that  the  present  fashion  for  Alpine  flowers 
has  increased  our  indifference  to  scent,  for  few  of  them 
have  much  smell,  and  yet  their  associations  are  so 
strong  and  delightful  that  it  is  no  wonder  we  should 
overlook  this  deficiency  in  them.  Probably  these 
associations,  more  even  than  their  beauty,  are  the 
cause  of  their  present  popularity.  It  is  only  natural 
that  when  men  take  a  delight  in  mountains  they 
should  also  delight  in  the  flowers  that  grow  upon 
them.  There  are  thousands  of  Englishmen  now  who 
think  of  their  holidays  always  in  connection  with  the 
Swiss  mountains,  and  for  whom,  therefore,  everything 
associated  with  those  mountains  has  a  peculiar  de- 
light. They  cannot  have  those  mountains  in  their 
own  gardens,  though  in  one  famous  rock  garden  there 
is  a  miniature  Matterhorn;  but  luckily  they  can,  by 
the  kindness  of  nature,  have  many  of  the  mountain 
flowers.  And  these  by  reason  of  their  character  and 
beauty,  in  which  they  are  so  distinct  from  the  flowers 
of  the  lowlands,  do  very  powerfully  call  to  mind  their 
mountain  homes.  They  are  the  only  "outlandish" 
flowers  in  which  we  take  delight  because  of  their  native 
associations,  which  seem  to  us  wild,  even  in  our  own 
gardens,  and  which,  therefore,  we  are  as  unwilling  to 
associate  with  any  kind  of  formality  as  our  own  Prim- 
roses and  Bluebells  and  Honeysuckle.  Many  of  them 


THE  ASSOCIATIONS  OF  FLOWERS     263 

will  grow  quite  well  in  the  border,  and  yet  so  grown 
they  seem  to  lose  half  their  beauty  with  all  their 
power  of  association.  Therefore  we  make  special 
places  for  them  as  congruous  with  their  associations 
as  possible. 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  as  we  travel  more 
and  more  and  further  and  further  afield  we  shall  not 
develop  this  kind  of  sensitiveness  about  all  the  for- 
eign plants  which  we  find  growing  in  their  native 
homes.  Gardening  would  become  impossible  if  we 
tried  to  imitate  the  natural  conditions  of  plants  from 
all  over  the  world,  if  the  new  associations  of  foreign 
travel  were  to  destroy  the  old  associations  of  our  gar- 
dens; if  we  could  no  longer  take  delight  in  Lobelia 
cardinalis  in  the  border  because  we  had  seen  it  grow- 
ing in  an  American  wilderness;  or  if  a  cottage  garden 
came  to  seem  an  absurdly  artificial  and  incongruous 
place  to  us.  But  this  is  never  likely  to  happen.  At 
present  our  sense  of  the  associations  of  flowers  is 
weakened  and  troubled  by  many  things,  by  the  revolu- 
tion in  gardening  fashions  which  is  still  continuing,  and 
by  the  multitude  of  new  plants  that  are  constantly 
introduced.  There  are  some  gardeners  who  prize 
novelty  for  its  own  sake  and  take  no  pleasure  in  fa- 
miliar beauties.  But  this  time  of  revolution  and  dis- 
covery must  come  to  an  end;  and  then  we  shall  find 
out  which  of  the  plants,  new  and  old,  we  love  the 
best;  and  about  these  associations  will  gradually 
gather  again,  and  they  will  become  familiar  to  us, 
we  may  hope,  not  only  in  our  gardens,  but  also  in 
our  poetry  and  art. 


BULBS  FOR  SPRING  PLANTING 

WE  are  all  accustomed  to  think  of  autumn  as 
the  time  for  planting  bulbs,  and,  indeed,  most 
of  our  best  and  most  familiar  bulbs  have  to  be  planted 
in  the  autumn.  Yet  there  are  a  good  many  bulbs 
not  perfectly  hardy  in  our  winters  which  luckily  do 
not,  like  Daffodils  and  Crocuses,  begin  their  growth 
before  the  spring,  and  which  can,  therefore,  be  taken 
up  and  stored  during  the  winter,  and  only  planted 
when  all  fear  of  severe  frost  is  over.  Some  of  these, 
like  the  Gladioli,  are  quite  familiar  to  us;  but  others 
are  not  often  seen  in  our  gardens  and  deserve  to  be 
grown  more  than  they  are.  They  are,  as  a  rule,  sun- 
loving  plants,  and  should  be  planted  in  warm  and 
sheltered  places,  with  good  drainage  and  light,  rich 
soil.  Gardeners  often  make  the  mistake  of  supposing 
that  bulbs  which  grow  in  the  poorest  of  soil  in  their 
native  countries  will  necessarily  need  no  more  nourish- 
ment in  England.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  this,  but 
often  wrong.  For  as  human  beings  need  more  food 
in  cold  countries  than  in  hot  ones,  so  it  is  apt  to  be 
with  plants.  It  has  been  discovered,  for  instance, 
that  Iris  tingitana,  which  thrives  in  Africa  almost 
in  the  desert,  will  not  usually  flower  in  England  with- 
out a  good  dose  of  manure  under  it.  It  is  impossible 
to  reproduce  in  England  all  the  conditions  to  which 

264 


BULBS  FOR  SPRING  PLANTING        265 

an  African  plant  is  used,  and,  this  being  so,  it  may 
often  be  a  mistake  to  attempt  to  reproduce  as  many 
of  those  conditions  as  possible.  The  inevitable  want 
of  one  condition  can  perhaps  only  be  supplied  by  a 
change  in  other  conditions.  Only  experiment  can 
determine  how  far  this  is  the  case,  and,  therefore, 
when  a  bulb  from  a  hot  country  fails  to  flower  in  Eng- 
land it  is  always  worth  while  to  try  a  richer  diet  upon 
it.  But  manure  when  it  is  given  to  bulbs  should  al- 
ways be  placed  well  below  them  so  that  they  may 
not  suffer  from  contact  with  it,  and  it  should  also  be 
well  rotted. 

Many  of  the  bulbs  which  are  best  planted  for  the 
first  time  in  spring  can  be  left  in  the  ground  after- 
wards if  they  are  in  warm  sheltered  places,  as,  for 
instance,  close  to  a  south  wall.  Such  bulbs,  however, 
should  be  planted  deep,  and  in  hard  winters  protected 
with  litter,  which  should  be  removed  as  soon  as  mild 
weather  comes.  But  if  these  bulbs  refuse  to  flower 
with  this  treatment,  they  should  be  lifted  in  the  au- 
tumn. 

The  best-known  bulbs  for  spring  planting  are,  as 
we  have  said,  the  Gladioli,  but  of  these  only  the  later 
flowering  kinds  should  be  planted  in  spring.  The 
beautiful  early  flowering  ones,  of  which  there  are 
now  many  varieties,  start  into  growth  in  the  winter 
and  should  be  planted  in  late  autumn,  and  protected, 
at  least,  for  the  first  winter.  Of  the  later  flowering 
Gladioli  there  are  now  several  groups  and  an  infinite 
number  of  varieties.  The  groups  also  are  tending, 


266  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

owing  to  hybridization  between  them,  to  lose  all  dis- 
tinctive qualities.  From  nurserymen's  catalogues  one 
can  only  learn,  as  a  rule,  that  each  group  is  generally 
considered  superior  to  all  the  rest.  The  oldest  group 
was  G.  gandavensis,  supposed  to  be  a  hybrid  between 
the  natural  species  G.  psittacinus  and  G.  cardinalis, 
but  other  species  were  afterwards  crossed  with  them. 
The  well-known  G.  Brenchleyensis,  the  scarlet  Gladio- 
lus, is  probably  only  a  form  of  gandavensis.  The 
other  groups  are  all  hybrids  either  between  Ganda- 
vensis and  some  natural  species,  or  between  Ganda- 
vensis and  other  hybrids.  Thus  G.  Lemoinei  is  a 
hybrid  between  forms  of  gandavensis  and  G.  pur- 
pureo-auratus,  and  the  strain  of  the  latter  parent  has 
produced  some  varieties  that  are  almost  blue.  Then 
Mr.  Lemoine  has  produced  a  new  group,  nanceianus, 
by  crossing  G.  Lemoinei  with  a  species  of  G.  Saun- 
dersii.  These  have  larger  flowers  than  G.  Lemoinei. 
Close  to  them  are  G.  Childsii,  hybrids  of  G.  ganda- 
vensis and  G.  Saundersii.  Of  all  these  groups  G. 
Lemoinei  are  the  most  distinct  in  their  colours  and 
markings.  The  largest  of  all  gladioli  is  a  new  variety, 
Princeps,  of  a  fine  scarlet  colour  with  a  white  stripe. 
The  culture  is  the  same  for  all.  They  may  be  planted 
from  the  beginning  of  April  to  the  end  of  May,  and 
the  earliest  planted  come  into  flower  about  the  middle 
of  July.  The  Lemoinei  group  flower  the  earliest,  the 
hybrids  with  G.  Saundersii  the  latest.  Gladioli  are 
at  their  best  in  a  rich  loam,  though  they  will  do  well 
enough  in  a  light  soil  if  it  is  well  manured.  The  ground 


BULBS  FOR  SPRING  PLANTING       267 

should  be  well  dug  and  manured  some  months  before 
planting,  but  no  manure  should  be  close  to  the  bulbs. 
The  position  should  be  warm  and  sunny,  and  the 
plants  must  be  watered  in  dry  weather.  The  bulbs 
must  not  be  lifted  until  they  are  thoroughly  ripe — 
that  is  to  say,  not  until  the  end  of  October.  Then 
they  should  be  kept  in  a  dry  place  and  protected  from 
frost. 

Many  Lilies  are  best  planted  in  spring,  especially 
those  imported  from  Japan,  which  do  not  usually 
arrive  in  time  to  be  planted  earlier.  But  we  have 
written  of  Lilies  before.  There  is  also  little  need  to 
speak  of  such  well-known  plants  as  Montbretias, 
Galtonias  (the  Cape  hyacinth),  and  Schizostylis  coc- 
cinea.  These  are  all  hardy,  except  in  the  hardest 
winters  in  very  cold  parts  of  the  country,  but  they 
are  best  planted  in  spring.  The  Schizostylis,  or  Kaffir 
Lily,  is  valuable  because  it  flowers  in  late  autumn. 
It  requires  the  same  kind  of  culture  as  Gladioli,  but 
prefers  a  rather  lighter  soil,  especially  if  it  is  not  lifted. 
In  very  cold  winters  it  should  be  protected. 

A  bulb  that  deserves  to  be  better  known  is  Lapey- 
rousia  (or  Anomatheca)  cruenta.  It  is  like  a  very 
small  Gladiolus,  with  scarlet  flowers  spotted  a  deeper 
colour.  It  should  be  planted  about  the  end  of  March, 
and  flowers  for  a  long  time,  often  persisting  from  July 
to  September.  It  is  an  excellent  bulb  for  the  rock 
garden,  as  it  is  only  about  9  in.  high  and  requires  sharp 
drainage.  Otherwise  it  is  quite  easy  to  grow.  It  is 
not  certainly  hardy,  but  in  a  warm  place  will  survive 


268  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

most  winters  if  it  is  planted  about  6  in.  deep.  The 
soil  should  be  light  and  mixed  with  leaf-mould  and 
rubble. 

The  beautiful  Amaryllis  belladonna  is  hardy  in 
a  warm  place,  as,  for  instance,  against  a  south  wall. 
It  likes  a  rich  loam  mixed  with  leaf -mould  and  rubble, 
and  should  be  planted  9  in.  deep.  Sharp  drainage 
is  very  important,  and  a  good  layer  of  manure  well 
below  the  bulbs  will  encourage  it  to  flower  well.  It 
should  be  disturbed  as  seldom  as  possible. 

Crinum  longifolium  (C.  capense),  a  noble  bulb 
closely  related  to  the  Amaryllis,  is  still  hardier,  and 
may  be  grown  in  a  sunny  border.  It  has  pale  pink 
flowers,  and  there  is  a  beautiful  white  variety.  It 
likes  a  rich  soil  and  plenty  of  water  while  growing. 
C.  Moorei  and  C.  Powelli  are  scarcely  less  hardy. 
There  is  a  splendid  white  variety  of  C.  Powelli.  They 
need  the  same  cultivation  as  Crinum  longifolium. 
The  genus  Zephyranthes  is  also  closely  related  to  the 
genus  Amaryllis.  Nearly  all  its  species  are  tender, 
but  one,  Zephyranthes  Candida,  seems  to  be  quite 
hardy  in  warm  situations  in  most  parts  of  England. 
In  South  America  it  is  a  marsh  plant,  but,  like  its 
fellow  countryman,  Nierembergia  rivularis,  it  re- 
quires good  drainage  in  England.  The  soil  should 
be  rich  and  the  position  sunny.  The  flowers  are  white 
and  like  those  of  a  crocus,  only  more  starry;  some- 
times they  are  slightly  tinged  with  pink.  It  is  an  ex- 
cellent bulb  for  the  rock  garden,  especially  as  it  flowers 
in  September,  when  rock  gardens  usually  have  few 


BULBS  FOR  SPRING  PLANTING       269 

flowers.  Zephyranthes  Atamasco,  a  very  beautiful 
plant  with  large  white  flowers  flushed  with  pink  when 
they  first  open,  is  hardy  in  very  warm  places,  but 
should  be  protected  in  winter.  It  is  also  a  marsh 
plant  by  nature,  but  needs  the  same  culture  in  Eng- 
land as  Zephyranthes  Candida. 

The  Tigridias  are  well  enough  known,  but  not  so 
much  grown  as  they  deserve.  It  is  true  their  flowers 
last  but  a  short  time,  but  they  are  so  strangely  beauti- 
ful and  borne  so  frequently  that  this  may  be  forgiven 
them.  They  belong  to  the  Iris  family,  and  in  shape 
are  rather  like  Irises,  though  the  petals  which  would 
be  "standards"  in  the  Iris  are  pressed  back  upon  the 
"falls "  or  lower  petals.  Tigridias  come  from  Mexico  — 
Tigridia  pavonia  is  the  species  commonly  grown  — 
and  it  is  not  safe  to  leave  them  out  all  the  year  in 
England,  though  they  will  often  survive  mild  winters. 
They  should,  therefore,  be  treated  like  Gladioli,  planted 
out  in  March,  lifted  when  the  leaves  die  down,  and 
stored  for  the  winter  in  sand.  They  like  a  very  sunny 
position  and  a  rich,  well-drained  soil.  They  do  miser- 
ably if  they  are  starved  either  of  food  or  of  sun.  In 
very  dry  weather  they  should  be  well  watered.  They 
begin  to  flower  in  July  and  continue,  when  well  treated, 
for  about  two  months.  Most  of  them  are  self-coloured 
on  the  outer  part  of  their  broad  lower  petals,  and 
strongly  spotted  in  the  middle.  There  is  a  yellow 
variety,  spotted  crimson;  a  scarlet  variety,  with  darker 
spots  on  a  yellow  ground;  a  beautiful  white  variety, 
with  deep  pink  spots;  and  a  pure  white  variety. 


270  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

The  Nerines  are  beautiful  bulbs  for  the  green- 
house, but  Nerine  Sarniensis,  the  Guernsey  Lily,  is 
worth  trying  out  of  doors  in  a  very  warm  spot  with 
the  same  culture  as  Amaryllis  belladonna.  It  should 
be  carefully  protected  in  winter  and  disturbed  as  sel- 
dom as  possible.  It  is  only  a  bulb  for  the  skilled  gar- 
dener, but  its  beauty  is  so  great  and  strange  that  it 
is  worth  some  trouble. 

The  Pancratiums  are  little  grown  in  our  gardens, 
but  Pancratium  Illyricum  is  a  beautiful  plant,  closely 
related  to  the  Daffodil,  and  hardy,  at  least  in  most 
winters,  in  the  south  of  England.  It  should  be  planted 
as  early  as  possible,  as  it  flowers  in  June.  It  likes  a 
good  sandy  loam  in  a  well-drained  sunny  position. 
The  flowers  are  white,  curiously  shaped,  and  sweet 
scented.  Pancratium  maritimum  also  has  white 
scented  flowers,  but  it  is  not  so  beautiful  as  P.  Illyri- 
cum. It  flowers  a  month  later.  It  was  apparently 
known  to  Parkinson;  at  least  the  plant,  which  he  calls 
Narcissus  marinus,  or  the  great  white  Sea  Daffodil, 
seems  to  be  the  same,  though  his  illustration  of  it  is 
rather  conventional.  He  remarks  that  "it  will  not 
thrive  and  bear  flowers  if  it  be  often  transplanted,  but 
rather  desires  to  abide  in  one  place  without  removing." 

Parkinson  also  speaks  of  another  most  beautiful 
bulb  not  often  seen  in  our  gardens  —  namely,  Or- 
nithogalum  Arabicum,  "the  Great  Starre-flower  of 
Arabia,"  but  he  gives  it  the  bad  reputation  which 
it  still  possesses.  He  recommends  that  it  be  kept 
out  of  the  ground  from  September  to  February  in  a 


BULBS  FOR  SPRING  PLANTING 

dry  place  and  then  planted  under  a  south  wall.  But, 
even  with  this  care,  it  will  seldom  flower  more  than 
once  in  England.  Luckily,  however,  it  is  a  cheap 
bulb  to  buy  and  far  the  most  beautiful  of  its  genus. 

Milla  biflora  is  the  only  species  which  is  still  al- 
lowed to  this  unfortunate  genus.  It  has  beautiful 
white  starry  flowers  in  late  summer;  and,  as  it  only 
grows  a  foot  high,  is  an  excellent  bulb  for  the  rock 
garden.  It  is  not  hardy  and  should  be  treated  like 
the  Gladioli. 

Crocosma  (or  Tritonia)  aurea  is  a  pretty  little  plant 
like  a  small  Montbretia.  It  has  orange  red  flowers 
in  late  summer.  It  is  not  quite  as  hardy,  perhaps, 
as  the  Montbretias,  but  in  warm  places  will  stand 
most  winters.  Like  the  Montbretia  it  increases  very 
rapidly,  and  the  bulbs  will  overcrowd  each  other  if 
they  are  not  taken  up  and  replanted  every  two  or 
three  years.  They  should  be  taken  up  when  the 
leaves  die  down,  and  it  is  then  safest  to  store  them 
for  the  next  winter. 

It  is,  of  course,  a  common  practice  to  plant  many 
species  and  varieties  of  Anemone  in  spring,  but,  ex- 
cept in  very  cold  heavy  soils,  those  which  are  usually 
planted  in  spring,  such  as  the  varieties  of  Anemone 
coronaria,  are  better  planted  in  August  or  September, 
or,  better  still,  raised  from  seed,  sown  where  they 
are  to  grow.  Anemone  fulgens  seldom  does  much 
the  first  year  if  it  is  planted  in  spring.  Early  autumn 
is  the  best  time  for  planting  it,  as  also  for  the  varieties 
of  Anemone  stellata  or  hortensis.  The  varieties  of 


STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

Ranunculus  Asiaticus,  however,  are  best  planted  in 
February  or  March;  although  the  Turkish  or  Tur- 
ban Ranunculi  are  hardier  than  the  French  or  Persian, 
and  will  often  do  well  if  planted  in  October  or  Novem- 
ber. These  garden  Ranunculi  have  gone  out  of  fash- 
ion with  other  flowers  that  suggest  Dresden  china. 
But  they  have  a  considerable  precise  beauty  of  their 
own  and  their  colours  are  exquisite.  It  is  a  pity  that 
single  forms  of  them  are  not  more  cultivated.  The 
single  scarlet  species,  however,  is  now  becoming  pop- 
ular, and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  its  beauty  will  cause 
a  demand  for  single  varieties  of  other  colours.  The 
Ranunculi  require  careful  cultivation  to  do  well.  The 
soil  must  be  rich  and  strong,  but  not  too  heavy,  and 
they  must  not  be  allowed  to  suffer  from  drought 
while  growing.  They  like  a  sunny  position  and  are 
apt  to  rot  away  if  planted  in  very  wet  weather.  Neither 
Anemones  nor  Ranunculi  are  really  bulbs,  nor  have 
they  any  resemblance  to  bulbs;  but  since  they  are 
treated  like  bulbs  we  may  be  excused  for  speaking 
of  them  now.  There  are  many  Cape  bulbs  worth  a 
trial  in  English  gardens  which  we  have  not  mentioned, 
but  most  of  them  are  little  known  at  present  and 
should  be  tested  by  experts  before  they  are  attempted 
by  the  ordinary  gardener  who  does  not  wish  his  experi- 
ence to  be  costly  and  painful. 


RAISING  PERENNIALS  FROM  SEED 

MOST  gardeners  show  curiously  little  enterprise 
in  the  matter  of  raising  perennial  plants  from 
seed.  Of  course  the  expert  gardener  increases  and 
improves  his  stock  of  plants  in  this  way  more  than 
in  any  other.  But  the  ordinary  amateur  seems  to 
be  very  shy  of  attempting  what  is  both  the  most 
profitable  and  the  most  exciting  process  of  all  the 
many  delightful  processes  of  gardening.  Wallflowers, 
Snapdragons,  Pentstemons,  Hollyhocks,  and  other 
doubtful  perennials  are  raised  from  seed  as  a  matter 
of  course.  But  the  true  perennials  are  usually  either 
bought  or  begged  to  start  with,  and  afterwards  in- 
creased by  cuttings  or  by  the  slow  and  sometimes 
injurious  process  of  division.  Now  it  is  true  that 
some  perennials  are  difficult  to  raise  from  seed,  and 
others  take  a  long  time  before  they  flower.  Many 
bulbous  plants,  for  instance,  such  as  Daffodils,  Tulips, 
and  Lilies,  often  take  six  years  or  more.  But  the 
great  majority  are  scarcely  more  difficult  than  an- 
nuals or  biennials,  and  even  those  that  are  difficult 
or  slow  will  come  much  more  easily  and  quickly  from 
seed  sown  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe.  Besides,  seed  even 
of  rare  plants  is  seldom  very  dear;  and  it  is  always 
worth  while  to  experiment  even  if  nothing  comes  of 

it.     But  the  great   advantage   of   raising  perennials 

273 


274  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

from  seed  consists  in  the  chances  of  getting  some 
fine  new  variety,  chances  which  exist  for  the  humble 
amateur  as  well  as  for  the  great  florist.  Many  of  the 
most  beautiful  modern  novelties  have  been  produced 
by  amateurs  without  large  trial  grounds  or  even  large 
gardens;  and  if  it  were  a  common  practice  for  ama- 
teurs to  raise  perennials  from  seed,  no  doubt  the  num- 
ber of  fine  novelties  would  be  greatly  increased.  Again, 
the  amateur,  if  he  raises  his  own  plants,  can  consult 
his  own  taste  and  aim  at  his  own  ideal  in  the  case  of 
those  plants,  such  as  Larkspurs  and  Columbines, 
which  vary  much  from  seed.  Many  of  these  can  be 
developed  without  any  skill  in  hybridizing  and  merely 
by  the  selection  of  seed  from  those  varieties  which 
are  most  to  the  gardener's  taste.  The  gardener  who 
is  in  the  habit  of  raising  perennials  from  seed  will 
look  into  every  garden  with  a  curious  eye,  and  if,  as 
very  often  happens,  he  sees  an  unusually  fine  variety 
of  some  plant,  he  can  beg  a  little  seed  of  it  without 
misgiving.  No  one  minds  giving  seed,  at  least  no  true 
gardener,  unless  it  be  from  a  plant  so  precious  that 
every  seed  must  be  treasured;  and  the  gift  of  seed 
can  always  be  repaid  with  a  plant  or  two  a  few  months 
later.  Then  the  gardener  may  choose  some  particular 
plant  to  develop  in  this  way;  and  if  he  chooses  dis- 
creetly and  proceeds  systematically  he  may  do  wonders 
in  a  few  years  without  occupying  much  ground  or 
taking  very  much  trouble.  A  great  number  of  peren- 
nials, if  the  seed  is  sown  as  soon  as  ripe,  will  flower 
the  next  year.  Some,  if  the  seed  is  sown  in  early 


RAISING  PERENNIALS  FROM  SEED    275 

spring,  will  flower  the  same  year;  and  only  com- 
paratively few  take  more  than  two  years  from  sowing 
to  flower. 

Speaking  roughly  we  may  say  that  monocoty- 
ledonous  plants  take  longer  than  dicotyledonous 
plants  to  flower  from  seed,  and  are  more  troublesome 
to  manage.  But  it  was  a  common  practice  among 
English  gardeners  in  the  seventeenth  century  to  raise 
Tulips  from  seed,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  any 
amateur  should  not  increase  his  stock  of  any  rare 
species  by  this  means,  if  he  has  the  patience.  The 
seed  of  most  spring-flowering  bulbous  plants  usually 
germinates  very  early  in  the  year,  and  it  is  best  to 
sow  them  some  time  in  the  summer  or  autumn  in  a 
box  or  pan  and  keep  them  in  a  cold  house  or  frame 
through  the  winter  and  early  spring.  The  seed  of 
ordinary  dicotyledonous  perennials  should  be  sown 
either  when  ripe  or  in  the  spring  or  early  summer  of 
the  next  year.  It  is  safest  always  to  sow  them  in 
boxes,  or,  in  the  case  of  the  smaller  and  more  delicate 
Alpines,  in  pans.  Many  perennials  will  germinate 
quickly  and  readily  with  the  most  ordinary  routine. 
All  that  is  needed  is  light,  rich,  and  fairly  fine  soil, 
say  a  mixture  of  sandy  loam  and  leaf-mould,  and 
that  the  seed  boxes  be  regularly  watered  with  a  fine 
rose  and  kept  shaded  and  cool  in  hot  weather.  In 
all  cases  seed  should  be  sown  as  thinly  as  possible 
and  covered  with  a  layer  of  soil  proportionate  to  their 
size.  Very  small  seed,  as  of  the  Saxifrages  and  Cam- 
panulas, should  be  mixed  before  sowing  with  a  much 


276  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

larger  amount  of  silver  sand  and  scarcely  if  at  all 
covered.  If  the  seed  is  carefully  mixed  with  the  sand, 
the  sower  will  be  able  to  tell  by  the  distribution  of 
the  sand  upon  the  surface  of  the  soil  whether  the  seed 
is  evenly  sown.  Seedlings  that  are  too  thick  are 
hampered  in  growth  from  their  very  birth,  and  may 
have  to  be  pricked  out  before  they  are  ready  for  that 
process.  Very  fine  seed  should  never  be  sown  in  a 
draughty  place,  as  the  wind  may  blow  it  all  about. 
More  failures  in  the  raising  of  seedlings  come  from 
excessive  or  irregular  watering  than  from  any  other 
cause;  and  plants  that  are  difficult  to  raise  must  be 
watered  with  great  care  and  delicacy.  But  we  are 
now  dealing  with  ordinary  perennials,  and  the  gar- 
dener who  is  raising  these  will  easily  be  able  to  see 
whether  the  soil  is  too  dry  or  too  much  sodden  with 
wet.  He  should  water  them  carefully  every  day,  and 
before  the  seed  is  sown  he  should  see  that  the  soil  is 
thoroughly  and  evenly  moist  down  to  the  bottom  of 
the  box.  To  ensure  this  it  is  best  to  water  the  soil 
before  it  is  put  into  the  box.  In  the  case  of  strong 
growing  and  rich  feeding  plants  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
cover  the  bottom  of  the  box  with  a  layer  of  manure. 
The  seedlings  will  root  down  into  this  and  can  be 
transplanted  with  their  roots  still  fastened  to  it.  But 
the  box  must  be  fairly  deep  when  manure  is  used,  so 
that  the  seedlings  may  not  reach  it  while  still  very 
young,  and  the  manure  must  be  very  well  rotted. 
Manure  from  an  old  hotbed  is  the  best  to  use.  The 
seedlings  must  be  pricked  out  as  soon  as  they  begin 


RAISING  PERENNIALS  FROM  SEED    277 

to  hamper  each  other's  growth.  And  this  fact  shows 
the  great  advantage  of  thin  sowing.  Perennials  that 
are  thinly  sown  can  often  be  kept  in  the  seed  box  until 
they  are  ready  to  be  planted  out  of  doors,  and  thus  a 
great  deal  of  trouble  is  saved.  It  is  well  to  have  a  plot 
of  ground  in  the  kitchen  garden  for  seedlings;  and  there 
they  may  be  left  until  the  autumn,  when  they  can  be 
planted  where  they  are  to  flower  next  year,  or  else, 
if  the  gardener  intends  to  keep  only  the  best  of  them, 
they  can  remain  until  they  flower  the  next  year.  When 
seed  is  sown  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe,  it  is  often  safest  to 
winter  the  seedlings  in  a  frame,  unless  they  have 
grown  very  strong;  and  for  this  reason  most  gar- 
deners prefer  to  sow  the  seed  of  perennials  in  the 
spring,  so  that  they  may  be  large  enough  to  face  the 
next  winter  out  of  doors. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  anything  like  a  com- 
plete list  of  perennials  that  are  easily  raised  from  seed. 
We  can  only  name  some  of  the  best  and  easiest  of 
them,  and  they  are  enough  to  stock  a  large  garden. 
All  the  perennial  Larkspurs  are  very  easily  raised 
from  seed,  both  the  innumerable  hybrids  and  species 
such  as  D.  formosum  and  D.  grandiflorum  and  the 
scarlet  D.  nudicaule  and  D.  cardinale,  both  of  which, 
however,  are  only  doubtful  perennials.  It  is  now 
possible  to  get  seed  of  the  beautiful  pale  blue  D.  bella- 
donna, and  this  is  said  to  come  true.  All  perennial 
Larkspurs  will  flower  the  next  year  from  seed  sown 
as  soon  as  it  is  ripe,  and  some  will  flower  the  same 
year  from  seed  sown  in  early  spring.  Columbines  are 


£78  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

as  easily  raised  from  seed  as  Larkspurs,  and  vary  as 
much.  We  have  written  before  in  some  detail  of  these 
beautiful  plants  and  of  the  possibilities  of  their  fur- 
ther development,  so  there  is  no  need  to  say  anything 
further  on  the  subject  now. 

Most  of  the  Campanulas  are  easily  raised  from  seed, 
particularly  C.  persicifolia,  C.  carpatica,  C.  grandis, 
C.  lactiflora,  C.  latifolia  pyramidalis,  and  C.  rhom- 
boidalis,  besides  many  small  species  and  hybrids 
suitable  for  the  rock  garden.  C.  persicifolia  and  C. 
carpatica  vary  a  good  deal  from  seed,  and  very  fine 
varieties  may  be  got  by  careful  selection.  Alstrceme- 
rias,  although  of  the  Narcissus  family,  soon  flower 
from  seed.  The  seed  should  be  sown  as  soon  as  ripe 
and  the  seedlings  planted  out  in  the  spring  if  they  are 
strong  enough.  They  should  be  well  established  in 
any  case  before  they  face  a  winter  out  of  doors.  An- 
chusa  italica,  a  doubtful  perennial,  comes  as  easily 
from  seed  as  any  biennial,  and  fine  forms  can  now  be 
got  from  seed  of  the  splendid  Dropmore  variety. 
Anemone  coronaria  is  quite  easily  raised  from  seed 
sown  as  soon  as  ripe,  but  the  seed  should  be  sown  out 
of  doors,  and  kept  well  shaded  until  the  seedlings 
are  strong.  The  finest  Anemones  are  those  which 
are  left  to  flower  where  the  seed  is  sown.  A.  fulgens 
can  be  raised  as  easily  as  A.  coronaria.  Michaelmas 
Daisies  are  easily  raised  from  seed,  but  so  easily  in- 
creased by  division  that  it  is  best  to  get  a  large  stock 
of  the  finer  varieties  in  this  way.  The  Catananches, 
Centaurea  montana,  the  perennial  species  of  Coreopsis, 


RAISING  PERENNIALS  FROM  SEED    279 

Commelina  caelestis,  the  Dracocephalums,  Echinops, 
most  species  of  Eryngium,  Erodium  Manescavi,  most 
species  of  Cranesbill,  Gaillardias,  Geums,  the  peren- 
nial Gypsophilas,  Linaria  Dalmatica,  the  perennial 
Linums,  Lobelias,  and  Lupins,  Lychnis  chalcedonica, 
L.  Haageana  and  L.  viscaria,  Malva  moschata,  Morina 
longifolia,  (Enothera  macrocarpa  (or  Missouriensis) , 
05.  speciosa  and  (E.  fruticosa,  the  perennial  Poppies, 
the  Pentstemons,  species  as  well  as  hybrids,  Platy- 
codon  grandiflorum,  the  Polemoniums,  the  Potentillas, 
nearly  all  the  perennial  species  of  Pinks,  the  Salvias, 
the  Caucasian  Scabious,  the  Statices,  and  the  Violas 
or  Tufted  Pansies,  as  well  as  many  species  of  Viola 
—  these  are  only  some  of  the  most  familiar  of  our 
garden  plants  that  can  be  raised  from  seed  with  the 
most  ordinary  care.  They  will  all,  or  nearly  all,  flower 
the  year  after  the  seed  is  sown,  and  most  of  them  will 
be  fine  plants  by  that  time.  About  60  plants  have 
been  obtained  from  one  penny  packet  of  the  seed  of 
(Enothera  macrocarpa,  some  of  which  flowered  the 
same  year  that  the  seed  was  sown.  These  plants, 
if  bought  from  a  nurseryman,  would  probably  have 
cost  sixpence  apiece;  so  that  the  transaction,  which 
entailed  very  little  trouble  or  skill,  was  a  profitable 
one. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  plants  which  are  less 
easy  to  raise  from  seed.  Either  the  seed  is  slow  and 
irregular  in  germinating,  especially  when  not  quite 
fresh,  or  the  seedlings  take  a  long  time  to  reach  ma- 
turity. It  is  often  difficult,  for  instance,  to  get  the 


280  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

seed  of  Phloxes  to  germinate,  although  self-sown 
seedlings  of  some  varieties  come  freely  in  certain 
years.  This  is  also  the  case  with  the  seed  of  the  Gen- 
tianella,  a  capricious  plant  in  all  respects,  which  grows 
and  seeds  itself  like  a  weed  in  some  places,  and  in 
others  only  lingers  and  dwindles.  It  is  a  good  plan 
to  soak  the  seed  of  both  these  plants  for  some  hours 
before  sowing  in  tepid  water;  but  even  then,  if  the 
seed  is  not  fresh,  disappointments  must  be  expected. 
Again,  the  seed  of  Auriculas,  and  of  many  other  kinds 
of  Primula,  such  as  P.  Japonica,  is  slow  and  capricious 
of  germination,  unless  it  is  sown  as  soon  as  ripe.  But, 
in  all  these  cases,  the  gardener  should  not  despair 
after  a  few  months.  Seed  sown  in  June  may  not  ger- 
minate till  the  next  spring.  The  seed  boxes  should 
be  kept  in  frames  through  the  winter,  and  then  put 
out  in  warm  spring  rains.  A  sudden  crop  of  seedlings 
will  often  be  the  result.  Snow  often  produces  ger- 
mination in  certain  stubborn  seeds,  particularly  those 
of  the  Gentians;  and  it  is  worth  while  to  expose  a 
box  of  these  to  a  fall  of  snow  in  early  spring.  There 
are  many  plants  which  may  ripen  seeds  in  England 
in  hot  summers,  so  the  gardener  should  choose  his 
own  time  to  experiment  with  them.  Indeed  he  will 
be  wise  to  try  most  of  his  bolder  experiments  in  seed 
sowing  after  a  hot  summer;  as  the  seed,  even  of  plants 
well  accustomed  to  our  climate,  is  apt  to  be  uncer- 
tain when  there  has  been  little  sun  to  ripen  it.  It  is 
well  always  to  be  on  the  look-out  for  seed  even  on 
plants  that  are  not  generally  supposed  to  ripen  it  in 


RAISING  PERENNIALS  FROM  SEED    281 

England.  There  is  no  strict  rule  in  such  matters;  and 
sometimes  a  plant  that  has  never  even  formed  seed 
before  will  suddenly  bear  it  and  ripen  it  profusely. 
Then  the  gardener,  if  he  is  watchful,  may  get  a  large 
stock  of  a  rare  plant  for  nothing  except  his  pains. 
It  is  difficult  to  give  precise  directions  for  the  treat- 
ment of  capricious  seed,  or  of  seedlings  that  are  hard 
to  bring  up.  Different  plants  need  different  treatment 
at  all  periods  of  their  life;  and  general  principles,  if 
easy  to  lay  down,  are  hard  to  apply.  Watering  is 
the  most  important  point,  and  the  keeping  of  the  soil 
fresh  and  sweet.  Boxes  or  pans  that  are  to  contain 
seedlings  impatient  of  stagnant  moisture  should  be 
well  drained,  but  in  such  a  case  the  soil  should  be  of 
such  a  nature  that  it  will  not  dry  very  quickly.  It 
is,  therefore,  a  good  plan  to  use  a  compost  retentive 
of  moisture,  such  as  rough  peat  and  fibrous  loam  and 
leaf  mould;  but  the  surface,  as  in  all  seed  beds,  must 
be  much  finer,  and  should  consist  of  well-sifted  soil 
mixed  with  silver  sand.  In  this  the  seed  can  be  easily 
covered  and  will  germinate  readily,  and  as  the  seed- 
lings grow  they  will  throw  down  their  roots  into 
the  richer  and  rougher  soil  below.  Gardeners  often 
take  great  trouble  to  make  all  the  soil  in  their  seed 
boxes  very  fine,  with  the  result  that  it  holds  no  mois- 
ture, and  that  the  seeds  do  not  germinate,  or  that  the 
seedlings  wither  up  in  their  first  infancy.  It  is  a  good 
plan  to  cover  up  seed  boxes  with  a  sheet  of  glass  or 
even  a  newspaper,  to  prevent  evaporation.  But  this 
must  be  removed  soon  after  the  seeds  have  germinated. 


282  STUDIES  IN   GARDENING 

No  seedlings,  of  course,  must  be  exposed  to  a  hot  sun, 
but  they  should  have  as  much  light  and  air  as  possible 
from  the  first.  They  always  require  careful  watching 
in  their  youth,  and  it  is  only  by  that  means  that  the 
gardener  can  learn  how  to  treat  them.  He  should 
also  know  something  of  the  habits  of  plants  which 
he  wishes  to  raise  from  seed,  as  that  knowledge  will 
give  him  some  idea  how  much  they  ought  to  be  watered, 
how  much  sun  they  will  endure,  and  what  amount  of 
drainage  and  what  kind  of  soil  they  will  need.  Of 
course,  in  natural  conditions,  the  seed  germinates 
near  where  the  parent  plant  grows;  and  the  gardener's 
aim  should  be,  not  to  depart  entirely  from  these  con- 
ditions, but  only  to  modify  them  so  as  to  make  germina- 
tion more  certain. 

These  are  only  a  few  general  hints  on  a  very  large 
subject,  but  they  may  be  of  use,  at  any  rate,  to  those 
amateurs  who  have  never  themselves  attempted  the 
most  exciting  and  delightful  of  all  gardening  processes. 


THE  BEAUTY  AND  CHARACTER  OF 
FLOWERS 

ONE  might  become  very  metaphysical  over  the 
beauty  of  flowers;  and  it  would  be  good  for 
metaphysicians  to  observe  their  beauty  disinterestedly 
for  a  long  time  before  attempting  to  deal  with  aesthetic 
questions.  "To  look  with  the  eye  confounds  the  wis- 
dom of  ages."  It  gives  you  a  respect  for  facts,  for  the 
thing  in  itself.  It  makes  you  cautious  of  theories, 
not  from  scepticism,  but  for  fear  lest  they  should  im- 
poverish your  sense  of  the  value  of  things.  A  disin- 
terested love  of  flowers  enriches  that  sense.  For 
flowers,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  are  simply  beau- 
tiful things.  We  cannot  argue  about  them  as  we 
argue  about  works  of  art.  Even  the  Senior  Wrangler 
who  wanted  to  know  what  "Paradise  Lost"  proved 
would  not  have  made  the  same  demand  about  a  rose. 
Men  make  works  of  art,  and  it  is  open  to  any  one  to 
say  that  they  might  be  better  employed.  But  flowers 
are  made  by  nature,  just  like  ourselves,  and  if  we 
question  their  right  to  exist,  we  question  our  own. 
Therefore,  no  one  does  question  their  right  to  exist 
or  the  pleasure  which  they  give  us.  It  is  part  of  the 
process  of  life.  Flowers  are  beautiful,  and  we  are 
made  to  enjoy  their  beauty,  just  as  we  are  made  to 

eat  and  sleep;   and  there  is  an  end  of  it.    We  cannot 

283 


284  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

enjoy  the  beauty  of  works  of  art  in  the  same  simple 
unquestioning  way,  for  behind  the  work  of  art  is  the 
artist,  a  man  like  ourselves,  however  superior,  who 
expresses  all  his  character  in  his  work,  his  infirmities 
as  well  as  his  virtues;  and  we  like  or  dislike  his  work 
as  we  like  or  dislike  his  character.  It  bears  the  mark 
of  his  age  and  race  and  a  hundred  other  marks  of 
circumstance,  all  of  which  have  some  kind  of  signifi- 
cance and  association  for  us,  pleasant  or  disagreeable. 
And  thus  we  are  never  quite  just  to  works  of  art,  and 
never  can  see  their  beauty  with  disinterested  eyes. 
There  is  always  something  involved  in  it  which  affects 
other  faculties  besides  our  sense  of  beauty.  Now- 
adays, for  instance,  the  beauty  of  Italian  Primitive 
pictures  is  heightened  for  us,  because  we  think  of 
them  as  produced  in  the  springtime  of  the  modern 
world.  Their  promise,  like  the  promise  of  Crocuses 
and  Daffodils,  is  more  delightful  to  us  than  the  mid- 
summer pomps  of  the  high  Renaissance.  In  the  same 
way,  the  beauty  of  the  Bologna  eclectics  is  hidden 
from  us  because  it  has  the  sickly  taint  of  a  declining 
age.  Our  historical  sense  interferes  with  our  sense 
of  beauty.  We  have  learnt  to  believe  that  no  Italian 
of  the  seventeenth  century  had  a  real  faith  or  real 
emotions,  and  we  scent  unreality  and  pretence  in  all 
their  works.  Luckily,  we  have  no  historical  sense 
about  flowers.  It  may  be  that  we  love  the  flowers 
of  spring  better  than  those  of  autumn;  but,  unless 
we  are  morbid,  we  are  reconciled  to  the  succession  of 
the  seasons  and  can  take  a  delight  in  it.  It  is  in  the 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  FLOWERS  285 

nature  of  things  that  the  beauty  of  autumn  should 
differ  from  the  beauty  of  spring.  We  do  not  feel  any 
human  waste  or  perversity  in  the  decline  of  the  year 
any  more  than  in  the  sunset.  There  is  sometimes  a 
fashion  among  poets  to  lament  the  autumn;  but 
that  is  only  because  they  produce  melodious  tears 
more  easily  than  melodious  laughter.  There  is  no 
true  analogy,  as  we  all  know,  between 

Bare  ruined  choirs  where  late  the  sweet  birds  sang — 

and  the  old  age  of  men;  for  spring  follows  winter, 
but  age  does  not  change  into  youth.  It  is  the  great 
merit  of  Keats's  "Ode  to  Autumn"  that  it  is  full  of 
delight  in  that  delightful  season  without  any  han- 
kering after  another. 

Where  are  the  songs  of  spring  ?    Ay,  where  are  they  ? 

Think  not  of  them,  thou  hast  thy  music,  too, — 
While  barred  clouds  bloom  the  soft  dying  day, 

And  touch  the  stubble-plains  with  rosy  hue; 
Then  in  a  wailful  choir  the  small  gnats  mourn 

Among  the  river  sallows,  borne  aloft 
Or  sinking  as  the  light  wind  lives  or  dies. 

So  it  is,  too,  with  the  flowers  of  autumn.  They  have 
their  own  beauty,  and  it  is  mere  wilfulness  of  fancy 
and  waste  of  emotion  to  connect  it  with  thoughts  of 
death  and  irrevocable  loss.  In  all  wild  flowers  there 
is  a  free  gift  of  delight  to  us,  with  no  poison  in  it  and 
nothing  to  provoke  criticism.  They  seem  to  express 
a  happiness  inherent  in  life,  to  be  the  art  of  nature 


286  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

herself,  and  to  show  us  what  our  own  art  ought  to 
be,  and  would  be,  if  we  could  purify  it  of  sick  fancies 
and  disgusts,  and  vain  subtleties  and  ambitions,  and 
affectations. 

But  so  soon  as  flowers  are  altered  and  developed 
by  men  there  is  something  in  their  beauty  that  pro- 
vokes criticism  at  once.  For  they  are  connected, 
like  works  of  art,  with  men's  ideas  and  purposes;  and 
therefore  we  like  or  dislike  them  according  as  we 
like  or  dislike  those  ideas  and  purposes.  Of  course 
all  flowers,  even  those  which  have  suffered  the  great- 
est garden  change,  have  still  something  of  wild  na- 
ture in  them.  They  are  children  of  the  earth  and 
only  pupils  of  the  gardener;  and,  though  they  may 
express  for  us  a  phase  of  taste  which  we  dislike,  they 
do  not  express  it  so  merely  as  furniture  or  pictures. 
But,  still,  they  do  express  it;  and  we  cannot  look 
upon  whatever  beauty  they  may  possess  with  disin- 
terested eyes.  There  are  flowers,  for  instance,  like 
the  prim  double  Dahlias  and  Ranunculuses  which 
remind  us  of  the  blossoms  on  Dresden  china,  and 
which  have,  no  doubt,  been  developed  by  the  same 
kind  of  taste  that  produced  those  blossoms.  If  we 
like  Dresden  china,  we  shall  like  these  flowers;  and 
there  are  a  hundred  subtle  causes  connected  with 
our  whole  view  and  experience  of  life  which  affect 
our  taste  in  such  things.  The  artificiality  of  a  few 
years  ago  is  always  distasteful  to  us.  We  have  just 
escaped  from  it  and  see  only  its  absurdities.  But  the 
artificiality  of  a  remoter  past  often  has  some  romance 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  FLOWERS     287 

for  us,  half  pathetic  and  half  amusing;  and  when  we 
are  sated  with  one  kind  of  artifice  we  turn  with  relief 
to  another  that  is  less  familiar.  Thus  we  are  inclined 
just  now  to  be  sated  with  flowers  that  are  loose  and 
floppy  and  fantastic  in  shape,  and  hectic  or  over- 
refined  in  colour,  flowers  like  some  of  the  tree  Pseonies 
and  Tea-roses,  and  tuberous  Begonias;  and,  there- 
fore, we  have  a  kindlier  feeling  for  the  old  prim  flowers 
which,  at  least,  did  not  look  exhausted  by  their  efforts 
to  be  beautiful,  which  bore  themselves  with  some 
reserve,  and  were  not  dishevelled  by  any  violence  of 
wind  and  rain.  In  all  these  cases  it  is  the  human 
element  in  the  flower  that  provokes  reactions  and 
changes  of  fashion.  The  gardener  exaggerates  its 
natural  qualities  in  one  direction  or  another  to  suit 
his  own  taste;  and  its  beauty  at  once  becomes  subject 
to  the  insecurities  of  taste  which  affect  all  beautiful 
things  made  by  men.  But  the  beauty  of  flowers  un- 
changed by  men  is  not  subject  to  these  insecurities 
—  or  subject  to  them  only  when  the  flowers  are  grown 
in  unnatural  conditions.  Wild  flowers  have  developed 
in  their  own  world  and  seem  to  be  as  perfectly  fitted 
to  it  as  stars  to  the  sky.  One  can  no  more  see  the 
true  beauty  of  Houseleeks  or  Stone  Crops  when  they 
are  forced  into  the  pattern  of  a  carpet  bed  than  one 
can  see  the  true  beauty  of  wild  animals  in  a  cage  at 
the  Zoo.  There  is  a  mystery  of  fitness  in  all  beauty, 
and  the  way  to  be  sure  of  it  is  to  study  the  beauty 
of  wild  flowers,  of  Woodruff  on  a  shady  bank,  or 
Bluebells  under  wild  Cherry  blossom  in  a  wood,  or 


288  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

Daffodils  about  a  stream  in  an  open  meadow.  Take 
these  away  from  their  surroundings  and  they  are  still 
beautiful;  but  they  have  lost  almost  as  much  of  their 
beauty  as  the  Columbines  in  the  Bacchus  and  Ariadne 
would  lose  if  they  were  cut  out  of  the  canvas. 

The  best  kind  of  gardening  is  based  upon  a  sense 
of  the  beauty,  not  merely  of  individual  flowers,  but  of 
flowers  growing  in  natural  conditions;  yet  gardening, 
like  all  art,  must  do  something  more  than  imitate 
nature.  We  cannot  even  pretend  to  provide  many 
of  our  finest  garden  plants  with  natural  conditions. 
They  are  like  domesticated  animals  that  in  this  coun- 
try need  constant  human  care  if  they  are  to  thrive. 
And  then  we  have  to  remember  that  nature  is  often 
content  to  make  a  particular  spot  beautiful  with 
flowers  for  only  two  or  three  weeks  in  the  year.  Dur- 
ing these  weeks  that  spot  may  be  the  despair  of  the 
gardener,  but  at  other  times  it  is  overgrown  with 
weeds.  Nature  makes  no  compromises,  but  the  gar- 
dener must  be  always  making  them.  And  yet,  like 
other  artists,  while  he  modifies  nature  to  suit  his  own 
purposes,  he  must  still  keep  a  respect  for  her  modesty 
and  a  love  of  her  beauty  in  his  heart.  He  should  never 
be  a  mere  virtuoso  and  do  violence  to  nature  just  to 
show  how  clever  he  is.  Flowers  are  the  facts  of  a 
garden,  and  they  must  not  be  distorted  or  exaggerated 
or  wrongly  related  to  each  other,  for  they  are  facts 
beautiful  in  themselves  and  introduced  only  for  that 
reason;  and  they  all  have  a  certain  character  in  their 
beauty  which  can  be  strengthened  or  weakened  by 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  FLOWERS     289 

the  manner  in  which  they  are  treated.  There  are, 
for  instance,  broad  differences  of  character  between 
monocotyledonous  and  dicotyledonous  flowers,  be- 
tween Irises  and  Lilies  and  Tulips  and  Narcissi  on 
the  one  hand,  and  Roses  and  Pinks  and  Campanulas 
on  the  other.  The  beauty  of  the  monocotyledons  is 
both  simpler  and  more  mysterious  than  the  beauty 
of  the  dicotyledons.  The  dicotyledons  are  usually 
inferior  in  purity  both  of  colour  and  of  form;  and 
yet  we  are  apt  to  love  them  better,  because  with  less 
perfection  they  seem  in  their  greater  complexity  to 
be  nearer  to  human  beings.  There  is  something 
strange  and  remote  even  in  so  familiar  a  flower  as 
the  German  Iris.  Its  beauty  beside  that  of  the  Rose 
is  like  the  beauty  of  the  sea  compared  with  the  beauty 
of  the  earth.  Everything  about  it  seems  mutable 
and  unsubstantial,  as  if  it  had  been  made  by  enchant- 
ment and  might  vanish  by  the  same  means.  Iris 
colours  are  liquid  or  cloudy.  It  has  got  its  very 
name  from  a  beauty  of  the  sky.  But  the  colours  of 
the  Rose,  though  less  pure,  seem  to  be  more  fixed. 
One  cannot  think  of  them  as  flushing  and  then  fading 
again  like  a  rainbow;  and  the  whole  plant  looks  as 
if  it  were  firmly  rooted  in  the  earth  and  had  grown 
slowly  out  of  it  by  a  natural  process,  not  by  any  en- 
chantment. The  Iris,  leaf  and  flower,  seems  to  be  all 
of  a  piece  and  created  at  a  stroke;  so  do  the  Tulip 
and  the  Narcissus  and  the  Lily.  There  is  a  much 
stronger  difference  in  the  parts  of  a  Rose  and  much 
more  wayward  variety  of  growth.  In  the  flowers  of 


290  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

monocotyledons  there  is  often  an  unfathomable  com- 
plexity of  colour,  as  on  the  surface  of  the  sea;  but  in 
dicotyledons  there  seems  to  be  a  greater  complexity 
of  nature  and  purpose,  as  in  the  earth;  and  there- 
fore they  look  more  at  home  upon  the  earth,  and  as 
if  they  were  its  inhabitants  and  not  passing  visitors 
from  an  unknown  state  of  being. 

These  may  seem  fanciful  distinctions,  but  they  can 
be  applied  to  some  purpose  in  the  arrangement  of 
flowers.  It  is  certain  that  the  beauty  of  monocoty- 
ledons is  of  one  kind  and  the  beauty  of  dicotyledons 
of  another,  and  also  that  these  different  beauties  are 
enhanced  by  intermixture  and  contrast.  A  number 
of  Tulips  or  Daffodils  or  Spanish  Irises  grown  by  them- 
selves are  apt  to  look  monotonous  and  unsubstantial. 
Their  true  character  is  revealed  only  when  they  are 
mingled  with  plants  of  another  nature,  when  they 
seem  to  have  sprung  up  among  them  by  chance,  giving 
a  last  touch  of  strangeness  and  wonder  to  the  beauty 
of  the  whole.  Any  formality  of  arrangement  is  con- 
trary to  their  nature.  They  should  look  as  if  they 
had  alit  among  the  leafage  of  other  plants  like  a  flight 
of  glittering  birds.  Then  our  pleasure  in  them  is  not 
troubled  by  the  thought  that  they  will  so  soon  be 
withered.  Their  fugitive  brilliance  is  at  its  best  when 
contrasted  with  the  more  quiet  and  enduring  beauty 
of  other  plants,  and  especially  of  shrubs,  such  as 
Rosemary  or  some  of  the  Veronicas  which  never  look 
dishevelled  or  exhausted  with  flowering.  These  give 
the  sense  of  permanence  that  is  needed  in  all  garden 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  FLOWERS     291 

design,  and  the  same  kind  of  foil  that  nature  pro- 
vides for  her  momentary  splendours. 

There  are  some  flowers  which  seem  to  keep  a  wild 
beauty  however  familiar  they  are  to  our  gardens,  and 
others  which  look  as  if  they  could  never  grow  wild 
anywhere,  but  must  have  been  created  for  the  gar- 
den. Nearly  all  the  Campanulas  look  wild  wherever 
they  are,  and  as  if  they  ought  to  be  in  the  woods  or 
on  the  mountains.  The  Cranesbill  is  always  a  wild- 
looking  plant,  whereas  its  near  relation  the  zonal 
pelargonium,  commonly  called  the  Geranium,  is  the 
tamest  of  flowers.  Tame  flowers  are  not,  however, 
to  be  condemned  for  their  tameness.  They  might 
look  out  of  place  in  a  hedgerow,  but  they  often  look 
beautiful  enough  hi  a  garden.  Sometimes  they  look 
tame  because  they  have  been  developed  by  the  gar- 
dener. Thus  garden  roses  are  often  the  tamest  of 
flowers,  and  wild  roses  the  wildest.  But  some  flowers 
look  tame  only  because  they  come  from  some  far 
country  with  a  flora  utterly  unlike  our  own,  and  be- 
cause therefore  we  can  think  of  them  only  as  growing 
in  gardens.  Lilium  auratum  grows  wild  in  Japan, 
but  for  us  it  is  entirely  a  garden  flower,  since  there  is 
nothing  at  all  like  it  among  our  wild  flowers;  whereas 
many  even  of  the  most  exotic  Campanulas  remind 
us  of  our  own  Harebell  or  some  other  native  species. 
It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  the  wildness  or  tameness 
of  different  flowers  when  planning  their  arrangement. 
One  must  not  be  too  subtle  in  such  matters;  but, 
where  there  is  a  large  garden  with  some  parts  of  it 


292  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

wilder  than  others,  it  is  easy  to  make  some  separation 
between  the  wilder  and  tamer  looking  plants;  not  to 
put  Bluebells,  for  instance,  in  the  same  kind  of  posi- 
tion as  garden  Hyacinths,  or  to  mix  the  natural  species 
of  Roses  with  hybrid  perpetuals.  It  is  in  wild  gar- 
dening that  a  sense  of  the  character  of  flowers  is  most 
needed,  for  plants  such  as  Dahlias,  Kniphofias,  double 
Pseonies,  or  garden  Pinks  look  most  dismally  out  of 
place  in  any  imitation  of  a  wilderness.  It  is  the  same 
with  a  rock  garden.  There  the  single  mountain  pinks 
look  their  best  and  the  double  garden  Pinks  are  as 
inappropriate  as  weeds.  But  place  a  mountain  Pink 
in  the  border,  and,  even  if  it  thrives,  half  its  beauty 
is  lost.  The  mountain  Pink  is  a  wild  flower,  the  gar- 
den Pink  a  tame  one;  and,  if  we  can,  we  should  treat 
each  accordingly.  All  beauty  has  a  character  of  its 
own,  and  the  character  of  flowers  is  most  clearly  shown 
when  they  are  placed  in  conditions  that  suit  that 
character  —  in  artificial  conditions  if  the  character  is 
artificial,  in  natural  conditions  if  it  is  natural.  It  is 
only  by  studying  the  character  of  flowers  and  having 
regard  to  it  that  the  gardener  can  achieve  those  subtle- 
ties of  beauty  which  look  as  if  they  had  come  by 
chance,  but  which  really  are  the  last  triumphs  of  his 
art. 


SAXIFRAGES1 

THERE  is  no  genus  of  hardy  plants  so  diverse 
in  form  as  the  saxifrages,  and  none,  perhaps, 
with  such  a  multitude  of  species  and  varieties.  But 
the  diversity  of  the  saxifrages  is  mainly  in  their  leaf- 
age and  habit  of  growth.  Their  flowers  vary,  of  course, 
in  size,  in  colour,  and  in  shape;  but  less  than  the 
flowers  of  many  other  genera,  far  less  than  the  flowers 
of  the  orchids;  while  even  orchids  do  not  vary  so 
much  in  their  whole  appearance.  There  are  mossy 
saxifrages;  saxifrages  growing  in  rosettes,  some,  at 
their  largest,  9  in.  across,  some  smaller  than  the  flower 
of  the  daisy;  saxifrages  with  great  leathery  leaves, 
some  of  them  rather  coarse  border  plants;  saxifrages 
in  close  minute  tufts,  obviously  high  mountain  plants, 
and  only  to  be  grown  with  some  skill  on  rock  work; 
and  saxifrages  of  the  London  Pride  class,  the  most 
homely  of  plants,  yet  with  the  peculiar  character 
and  grace  of  the  family.  There  is  Saxifraga  peltata, 
the  umbrella  plant,  so  called  from  its  great  spreading 
leaves,  sometimes  18  in.  wide;  and,  for  contrast  with 
this,  there  are  Saxifraga  caesia  and  Saxifraga  squar- 
rosa,  the  single  leaves  of  which  are  almost  too  small 
to  be  distinguished,  while  a  large  plant  of  either  of 

1  Most  of  the  Saxifrages  are  difficult  in  the  United  States,  though  with 
pains  many  can  be  successfully  grown. 

293 


294  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

them  could  be  covered  with  the  leaf  of  a  geranium. 
And  saxifrages  are  no  less  varied  in  their  habits  and 
requirements.  Some  species  could  be  found  to  thrive 
in  almost  any  part  of  the  largest  and  most  diversified 
garden  that  it  is  possible  to  conceive.  The  greater 
number  are  rock  plants,  indeed,  they  are  the  chief 
of  all  rock  plants;  but  some  are  natives  of  marshes, 
others  like  cool,  shady  places  in  an  ordinary  border, 
others  will  grow  anywhere.  Few  are  really  difficult, 
and  the  difficult  ones  are  seldom  the  most  beautiful 
in  a  genus  that  is  full  of  beauty.  The  saxifrages  are 
never  likely  to  be  popular  with  those  who  grow  plants 
only  for  their  flowers,  for  their  beauty  and  their  peculiar 
charm  are  nearly  always  as  much  in  their  habit  of 
growth  as  in  their  blossoms.  These  are  seldom  bril- 
liant or  conspicuous.  No  one  would  use  saxifrages 
for  bedding  out  or  "to  make  a  show."  The  best  of 
them  are  plants  for  the  gardener  who  delights  in  char- 
acter and  in  fitting  the  plant  to  the  place.  Saxifrages 
seem  to  belong  to  a  situation  that  suits  their  char- 
acter like  moss  to  a  stone;  and,  even  if  they  thrive 
in  one  that  does  not,  they  look  like  exiles  making  the 
best  of  their  banishment.  Even  the  familiar  London 
Pride  does  not  consort  well  with  the  ordinary  plants 
of  the  border;  and  those  who  think  of  it  as  a  dull 
thing  will  be  surprised  at  its  beauty  when  they  see 
it  in  some  cool,  rocky  place  among  oak-ferns  and 
Primulas.  In  fact,  all,  or  nearly  all,  saxifrages  are 
determinedly  wild  plants.  They  have  suited  their 
character  to  certain  natural  conditions;  and,  al- 


SAXIFRAGES  295 

though  many  of  them  will  grow  well  enough  in  the 
ordinary  conditions  of  the  gardens,  they  will  not  take 
on  the  air  of  a  garden  plant.  Very  few  of  them,  there- 
fore, are  plants  for  the  border.  They  belong  either 
to  the  wild  outskirts  of  the  garden  or  to  rock  work; 
and  most  of  them  belong  to  rockwork. 

It  is  easy  enough  to  talk  in  general  terms  of  saxi- 
frages, but  the  most  learned  expert  must  have  some 
fears  when  he  comes  to  particulars;  and  that  not 
merely  because  of  the  multitude  of  species  and  varie- 
ties, nor  because  there  is  much  dispute  about  the 
cultivation  of  most  of  them,  but  simply  because  of 
their  names.  There  is  no  lack  of  names  among  saxi- 
frages, indeed  there  are  too  many;  and  the  difficulty 
is  to  apportion  them.  Saxifrages,  especially  certain 
divisions  of  them,  are  extremely  variable,  and  hy- 
bridize almost  as  readily  as  Columbines.  Nursery- 
men and  others  have  taken  a  delight  in  giving  new 
names  to  all  the  minute  variations  they  can  distinguish 
and  to  innumerable  and  often  indistinct  hybrids; 
and  these  names  have  been  given  recklessly  and  with- 
out reference  to  any  universally  acknowledged  au- 
thority. The  consequence  is  that  some  saxifrages 
have  several  different  names,  while  others  share  the 
same  name  between  them.  Any  one  who  wants  to 
get  an  idea  of  the  anarchy  which  prevails  in  this  matter 
should  read  the  chapters  on  saxifrages  in  Mr.  Reginald 
Farrer's  book  "My  Rock  Garden."  Mr.  Farrer  is 
an  expert  indeed,  and  has  perhaps  the  largest  collec- 
tion of  saxifrages  in  the  world.  Yet  their  names 


296  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

often  baffle  him,  and  half  his  time  he  is  explaining 
that  the  familiar  name  of  some  well-known  variety 
is  not  the  right  one.  In  the  matter  of  names,  there- 
fore, one  must  do  the  best  one  can,  avoiding  tiresome 
controversies  and  also,  as  far  as  possible,  avoiding 
misleading  errors. 

Some  idea  of  the  complexity  of  the  subject  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  the  innumerable  different 
species  and  varieties  of  saxifrages  are  usually  divided 
into  about  fifteen  sections.  But  of  many  of  these 
luckily  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  in  an  article  ad- 
dressed to  the  general  reader.  Here  we  shall  mention 
only  those  sections  which  contain  plants  likely  to 
interest  the  ordinary  gardener;  and,  of  these,  the 
best  known  is  the  Aizoon  section,  in  which  are  grouped 
all  the  rosette  saxifrages,  of  which  S.  Aizoon  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  type.  We  say  supposed,  because 
nobody  seems  to  know  what  exactly  S.  Aizoon  is. 
Mr.  Farrer  says  that  he  believes  it  to  be  a  sort  of 
Platonic  idea,  "represented  only  by  innumerable 
varieties  or  partial  manifestations  of  its  sacred  es- 
sence." When  you  see  a  rosette  Saxifrage  of  ordinary 
size  and  do  not  know  its  name,  you  call  it  S.  Aizoon, 
and  no  harm  is  done.  For  the  fact  is,  the  species  is 
so  variable  and  so  liable  to  hybridize  with  other  sim- 
ilar species,  that  it  has  lost  its  identity.  Yet  this 
may  be  said  for  certain  about  it,  that  it  grows  in  sil- 
very rosettes  of  varying  size,  the  largest  about  3  in. 
across,  and  that  from  the  centre  of  these  rosettes  it 
throws  up  sprays  of  little  flowers  white  or  a  pale  yellow 


SAXIFRAGES  297 

and  usually  more  or  less  spotted  with  pink.  It  is  a 
true  rock  plant  and,  though  easy  to  grow  in  any  open, 
well-drained  place,  looks  its  best  only  among  the 
rocks.  It  likes  the  sun,  but  not  extremes  of  drought 
and  heat.  It  thrives  best  in  a  light,  fairly  rich  soil, 
with  plenty  of  lime  in  it,  and  when  it  is  planted  on  a 
steep  bank  so  that  its  roots  can  run  under  the  rocks. 
It  will  do  well  on  the  north  side  of  an  open  rockery, 
but  grows  leggy  and  blossoms  poorly  in  shade.  These 
remarks  apply  to  nearly  all  the  saxifrages  of  this  sec- 
tion and  to  many  others.  There  are  few  that  like 
either  drought  or  complete  shade;  and  very  many 
need  lime  if  they  are  to  flower  profusely. 

It  would  be  impossible  even  to  mention  all  the 
varieties  of  S.  Aizoon.  There  is  a  pretty  yellow  variety 
and  a  beautiful  pink  one,  still  new  in  commerce.  There 
is  a  very  small  variety  called  minima.  There  is  crus- 
tata,  a  name  given  to  many  different  varieties.  There 
is  elongata,  and  so  on.  S.  lingulata  is  usually  con- 
sidered a  species.  It  has  large  white  flowers,  varies 
much  from  seed,  and  has  hybridized  with  S.  Aizoon. 
S.  Lantoscana  is  a  variety  of  it;  and  sometimes  one 
sees  very  splendid  forms  called  Lantoscana  superba, 
but  nurserymen  are  apt  to  call  any  variety  of  lingu- 
lata by  this  name.  The  two  finest  species  of  this 
section  are  S.  cotyledon  and  S.  longifolia.  Both  have 
very  large  rosettes  and  sprays  of  flowers  often  a  couple 
of  feet  high.  S.  cotyledon  will  grow  in  any  sunny 
place  not  too  hot.  The  flowers  of  the  true  species 
are,  we  believe,  unspotted;  but  there  are  spotted 


298  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

varieties.  S.  pyramidalis  is  only  a  variety  and  not 
a  very  distinct  one.  There  are  other  varieties  that 
need  not  be  specified.  S.  cotyledon  does  not  need 
lime,  and  some  of  its  varieties  seem  to  dislike  it.  It 
is  very  easy  to  grow,  but  deserves  a  good  place  and 
rich,  light  soil,  as  then  it  spreads  into  great  patches 
and  blooms  profusely.  It  can  be  quickly  increased 
by  means  of  offsets,  and  differs  in  this  from  the  even 
finer  S.  longifolia,  the  giant  saxifrage  of  the  Pyrenees. 
This  dies  as  soon  as  it  has  flowered,  but  it  often  takes 
some  years  to  flower,  and  is  worth  growing  both  for 
the  beauty  of  the  plant  and  for  its  short-lived  glory 
of  bloom.  It  likes  a  cooler  place  than  S.  cotyledon, 
and  does  very  well  on  the  north  side  of  a  sunny  rock 
garden  in  deep  pockets  between  the  rocks  filled  with 
a  rich,  light,  limy  soil.  It  can  be  easily  raised  from 
seed,  like  all  the  Aizoon  saxifrages,  but  hybridizes 
so  profusely  that  one  can  never  be  sure  of  getting  the 
pure  species.  Hybrids,  however,  are  often  beautiful 
and  interesting,  and  some  of  them  make  offsets  be- 
sides growing  as  large  as  the  species  itself.  S.  coty- 
ledon also  hybridizes  with  other  species,  though  less 
freely,  and  a  hybrid  between  it  and  one  of  the  Aizoons 
is  called  S.  McNabiana.  This  is  a  splendid  plant,  but 
difficult  to  get  true.  The  true  form,  we  believe,  has 
pink  spots  all  over  the  flower.  S.  cochlearis  is  a  species 
with  rather  small  rosettes,  and  not  certainly  in  the 
Aizoon  section.  S.  valdensis  is  usually  considered  a 
variety  of  it,  and  is  a  beautiful  little  plant,  easily 
grown  in  limy  soil  and  a  cool  place  among  the  rocks. 


SAXIFRAGES  299 

The  section  which  contains  the  rarest,  most  beau- 
tiful, and  most  delicate  of  the  saxifrages  is  known  as 
the  Kabschia  section.  The  saxifrages  included  under 
it  nearly  all  want  some  care  and  are  all  mountaineers. 
They  should  be  grown  among  large  rocks  that  are 
sunk  deep  into  the  soil,  and  must  have  perfect  drain- 
age and  be  quite  free  from  any  drip.  The  chief  dif- 
ficulty in  their  cultivation  is  to  provide  them  with  a 
place  that  is  dry  enough  in  winter  and  cool  enough 
in  summer.  In  a  sunny  rockery  they  do  best,  as  a 
rule,  with  a  west  or  northwest  aspect.  On  the  south 
side  they  are  apt  to  be  burnt  up  by  the  sun.  Their 
soil  should  be  composed  of  light  loam,  silver  sand, 
leaf  mould,  and  mortar  rubble  or  pieces  of  limestone, 
and  the  surface  should  be  covered  with  rubble  or 
limestone.  They  should  also  be  placed  so  that  their 
roots  can  run  under  a  large  stone.  This  sounds  a 
formidable  list  of  directions;  but  many  of  the  Kab- 
schia saxifrages  are  worth  any  amount  of  trouble; 
and  any  one  who  has  seen  a  fine  clump  of  S.  burseriana 
would  be  ready  to  take  it.  It  grows  in  minute  silvery 
tufts,  and  from  these  in  March  rise  flowers  large  for 
the  size  of  the  plant  and  like  delicate  little  white 
roses.  There  is  no  more  beautiful  spring  flower  in 
the  world;  and  it  is  not  really  difficult  to  grow,  with 
a  little  care.  Burseriana  major  is  a  finer  variety;  and 
there  is  one  called  Gloria,  not  yet  in  commerce,  and 
said  to  surpass  all  other  forms.  The  easiest  and  most 
useful  of  all  these  saxifrages  is  S.  apiculata,  a  vigorous 
plant  which  makes  large  tufts  of  deep  shining  green, 


300  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

and  has  pale  yellow  flowers  in  March.  This  needs 
no  particular  care.  It  likes  lime,  a  cool,  well-drained 
place,  and  a  light  deep  soil.  If  it  ceases  to  bloom  it 
should  be  divided  in  early  autumn.  It  is  a  most 
valuable  spring  plant.  S.  Elizabethae  is  like  a  smaller 
and  more  delicate  apiculata.  It  should  be  grown  like 
burseriana,  but  is  easier  and  more  vigorous,  in  spite 
of  its  delicate  beauty.  S.  Salomonii  appears  to  be  a 
hybrid  of  burseriana;  it  has  the  same  beautiful  white 
flowers  on  rather  longer  stalks.  It  is  as  easy  as  S. 
Elizabethae.  S.  Boydii  is  another  hybrid,  very  small 
and  very  slow-growing,  a  plant  for  experts.  Its  white 
variety,  however,  is  easier  and  quicker  growing.  It 
is  also  much  cheaper.  S.  Griesbachii  is  remarkable  for 
its  crimson  flowers,  and  quite  easy  to  grow,  with  a 
little  care.  S.  caesia  is  a  minute  rosette  saxifrage, 
a  pretty  little  plant  which  must  have  lime  and  a  fairly 
cool  place,  though  it  is  less  impatient  of  heat  than 
some  of  the  Kabschia  saxifrages.  S.  squarrosa  is 
even  smaller,  and  grows  higher  in  the  mountains.  It 
requires  the  same  culture  as  S.  caesia,  but  rather 
more  care.  These  are  plants  only  for  those  who  care 
for  minute  beauty.  There  are  many  other  species 
and  varieties  in  this  section,  some  very  beautiful, 
but  most  of  them  rare  and  little  grown  as  yet  by  ordi- 
nary gardeners. 

The  mossy  saxifrages  of  the  dactyloides  section,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  nearly  all  very  easy  to  grow, 
and  most  of  them  common  in  gardens.  Dovedale 
Moss  (S.  hypnoides)  is  the  best  known  of  them  and 


SAXIFRAGES  301 

a  native  common  in  Derbyshire  and  some  other  coun- 
ties. There  is  great  uncertainty  about  the  names  of 
many  of  the  mossy  saxifrages.  The  finest  of  the  com- 
moner white  ones  is  S.  Camposii  (or  Wallacei),  a  most 
beautiful  plant  with  large  shining  white  flowers  in 
early  summer.  S.  muscoides  is  a  close-growing  species, 
and  the  variety  atro-purpurea  is  better  still.  S. 
Rhei  is,  perhaps,  a  variety  of  S.  caespitosa.  It  has 
delicate  pink  flowers  and  a  close  habit.  Guildford 
Seedling  is  a  splendid  variety  of  this,  with  deep  crim- 
son flowers.  There  are  some  other  varieties  of  Rhei, 
but  not  differing  much  from  the  type.  S.  pedemon- 
tana,  at  least  the  plant  usually  sold  under  that  name, 
is  a  quick-growing,  vigorous  species  with  flowers  of 
a  less  bright  white  than  those  of  S.  Camposii,  but  still 
very  pretty.  Other  good  species  of  this  section  are 
cuneata,  ajugaefolia,  and  exarata.  All  the  mossy 
saxifrages  like  a  cool  place,  and  they  are  excellent 
plants  for  the  lower  parts  and  the  north  side  of  the 
rock  garden.  They  do  not  need  rock  work,  but  look 
their  best  on  it.  They  like  a  light  soil  rich  in  humus.  S. 
Camposii  is  more  impatient  of  drought  than  the  rest, 
and  is  apt  to  wither  up  in  hot  sun,  while  in  too  deep 
shade  it  grows  leggy.  When  this  happens  it  should 
be  taken  up  and  replanted  deeper.  There  have  lately 
been  obtained  a  number  of  hybrids  between  mossy 
saxifrages  and  the  meadow  saxifrage  (S.  granulata), 
which  is  so  abundant  in  damp  meadows  in  some  parts 
of  the  country.  These  hybrids  are  generally  known 
as  S.  decipiens,  and  some  of  them  are  well  worth  grow- 


302  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

ing.  There  is  also  a  double  form  of  S.  granulata,  a 
pretty  plant,  but  not  so  pretty  as  the  wild  species. 
S.  tenella  belongs  to  a  different  section  from  the  mossy 
saxifrages,  but  it  looks  even  more  mossy  than  they 
do,  and  is  a  charming  plant  for  a  cool  place  on  rock- 
work.  It  is  impatient  of  hot  sun. 

The  most  brilliant  flowered  of  all  the  saxifrages  is 
S.  oppositifolia.  It  grows  on  English,  Scotch,  and 
Welsh  mountains,  and  produces  bright  crimson-ma- 
genta flowers  in  March.  There  is  no  spring  flower  more 
beautiful  or  surprising.  It  is  quite  easily  grown,  and 
yet  many  gardeners  fail  with  it.  It  should  be  planted 
in  an  open  yet  cool  place  on  the  north  side  of  the  rock 
garden,  and  in  poor  soil  mixed  with  mortar  rubble. 
If  the  soil  is  too  rich  it  gets  leggy  and  refuses  to  flower. 
It  benefits  by  a  top  dressing  in  spring  of  sand  and 
leaf-mould,  and  if  it  gets  rusty  it  should  be  taken  up 
and  replanted  in  fresh  soil  in  early  autumn.  There 
are  several  varieties,  including  a  white  one,  which  is 
not  of  much  value. 

Saxif raga  Fortunei  is  a  fine  species  from  Japan  which 
flowers  in  autumn.  There  is  some  doubt  about  its 
hardiness,  and  it  should  be  grown  in  a  well-drained 
and  sheltered,  but  fairly  cool,  position  in  the  rock 
garden,  with  some  protection  in  hard  frosts.  Most 
of  the  larger  saxifrages  belong  to  the  Bergenia  or 
Megasea  section.  S.  cordifolia  and  S.  crassifolia,  both 
often  called  S.  megasea,  are  the  best  known.  They 
are  border  plants  with  pretty  pink  flowers,  but  the 
leaves  usually  look  rather  dingy.  To  flower  well, 


SAXIFRAGES  303 

they  require  a  fairly  sunny  place  and  a  good  rich  soil. 
S.  ligulata  and  its  variety  S.  ciliata  are  better  suited 
for  bold  rock-work,  and  look  well  among  plants  such 
as  Corydalis  nobilis.  S.  Stracheyi  is  the  prettiest 
species  of  the  section,  with  delicate  pink  flowers  early 
in  March  or  April.  It  sometimes  dies  in  very  hard 
winters  and  should  be  given  a  fairly  cool,  sheltered 
position  among  the  rocks.  The  variety  Afghanica 
has  white  flowers  and  is  a  beautiful  plant  not  often 
seen. 

We  have  mentioned  but  a  few  of  the  innumerable 
species  and  varieties  of  the  saxifrage.  The  gardener 
who  begins  to  collect  saxifrages  will  never  come  to 
the  end  of  them,  and  he  will  be  wise  always  to  see  less 
known  species  and  varieties  before  he  buys  them.  If 
he  does  not,  he  will  probably  acquire  many  common 
or  nondescript  plants  with  romantic  names.  The 
anarchy  among  saxifrages  is  such  that  nothing  could 
put  an  end  to  it  except  the  appointment  of  a  Dictator 
and  an  Act  making  it  a  criminal  offence  to  call  any 
saxifrage  by  any  name  except  the  one  given  to  it  by 
him.  But  even  then  in  a  few  years  there  would  be 
a  number  of  new  hybrids  and  as  much  confusion 
among  them  as  ever. 


THE  FIFTY  BEST  HARDY  PERENNIALS 

EVERY  one  likes  to  make  anthologies,  for  no  one 
is  satisfied  with  the  anthologies  of  others;  and 
in  making  them  there  is  a  pleasure  both  of  inclusion 
and  exclusion.  There  are  some  things  unjustly  ig- 
nored by  other  anthologists,  and  others  unduly  prized 
by  them.  There  is  no  lover  of  poetry  that  would  not 
like  to  work  some  changes  upon  the  Golden  Treasury; 
but  it  is  far  easier  to  make  a  figurative  anthology  of 
poems  than  a  real  one  of  flowers.  In  the  first  place, 
you  can  produce  your  poems  to  justify  your  choice; 
but  you  can  only  produce  the  names  of  your  flowers, 
and  those  who  do  not  know  them  must  take  your 
judgment  on  trust.  In  the  next,  there  are  no  garden 
varieties  of  poems.  There  is  no  Lycidas  grandiflorus 
to  oust  the  original  and  no  Dropmore  version  of  the 
Ode  to  the  West  Wind.  No  one  dares  to  touch  up 
a  poem  except  the  author  of  it.  When  he  is  dead  the 
type  of  the  poem  is  fixed.  But  with  flowers  it  is  other- 
wise. If,  making  an  anthology  of  them,  you  speak  of 
the  Rose,  you  are  asked  at  once,  What  Rose?  And 
what  can  you  answer  ?  How  can  one  be  chosen  among 
so  many  with  such  different  merits  and  defects?  It  is 
the  same  with  Irises  and  Lilies  and  Larkspurs  and 
Pseonies.  It  is  impossible  to  satisfy  even  yourself 

with  any  one  choice  among  them.    And  yet  it  is  amus- 

304 


BEST  HARDY  PERENNIALS  305 

Ing  to  try,  and  may  amuse  others.  But  even  the  at- 
tempt is  possible  only  with  strict  and  arbitrary  limi- 
tations, which  are  difficult  to  define  and  still  more 
difficult  to  keep.  We  will  confine  ourselves  to  fifty 
hardy  perennial  plants.  We  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  shrubs,  thus  avoiding  roses,  which  could  only 
be  treated  in  an  anthology  to  themselves.  Then  how 
about  bulbs  ?  They,  too,  need  an  anthology  to  them- 
selves. So  we  will  leave  them  all  out  except  Lilies, 
which  must  be  included  because  the  Madonna  Lily 
cannot  be  left  out.  We  will  also  confine  ourselves  to 
border  plants;  and  one  of  our  chief  tests  shall  be  that 
a  plant  can  be  easily  grown  in  the  ordinary  garden. 
This  is  to  be  an  anthology  for  every  one,  not  for  the 
specialist;  and  when  we  say  easily  grown,  we  mean 
grown  without  fuss  or  constant  renewal.  Thus  we 
get  rid  of  Carnations,  which  also  need  an  anthology 
to  themselves.  Our  fifty  best  perennials  must  be 
hardy,  easily  grown,  and  true  perennials,  or  at  least 
perennial  for  some  years.  They  must  also,  of  course, 
be  beautiful;  and  where  there  is  a  great  choice  of 
varieties  we  shall  try  to  select  one  which  excels  in  all 
the  qualities  of  a  border  plant.  But,  having  laid 
down  these  strict  rules  for  our  choice,  we  shall  be 
tempted  to  break  them  in  one  or  two  cases,  where  a 
plant  has  such  signal  merits  that  it  ought  to  be  in 
every  garden,  although  it  has  also  defects  that  ought 
to  exclude  it  from  our  anthology.  We  shall  try  to 
make  that  anthology  classical  rather  than  romantic, 
indulging  in  our  own  freaks  of  taste  no  more  than  we 


306  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

can  help.  But  even  so  it  is  sure  to  seem  freakish  to 
some  readers;  and  if  it  does  they  will  have  the  pleasure 
of  disagreeing  with  it. 

We  will  begin  with  Larkspurs,  one  of  our  chief  dif- 
ficulties. The  florists  are  always  raising  new  varieties 
of  these,  but  many  of  them  are  not  pure  blue,  and 
surely  the  glory  of  a  Larkspur  is  in  its  blueness.  In 
this  Delphinium  Belladonna  has  never  been  surpassed. 
It  is  not  quite  so  robust  as  some  varieties  nor  so  tall 
growing,  but  will  do  well  enough  in  most  sunny  well- 
drained  borders;  and  it  flowers  longer  than  any  Lark- 
spur. Persimmon  is  taller  and  larger  flowered  and  a 
splendid  variety,  but  it  has  not  all  the  grace  of  Bella- 
donna. True  Blue  is  a  noble  plant,  a  darker  colour 
with  a  brown  centre  like  a  bee,  but  it  has  a  doubtful 
constitution.  Therefore  we  choose  Belladonna  for  our 
Larkspur.  It  used  never  to  ripen  seed;  but  a  seed- 
bearing  variety  has  now  been  obtained  from  which 
it  is  said  the  seedlings  come  true.  Several  species  of 
Lilies  are  thoroughly  good  garden  plants.  The  chief 
of  them,  of  course,  is  the  Madonna,  whose  one  defect 
is  its  disease.  Plant  it  in  August  or  September  in 
a  rooty  place,  but  where  it  gets  plenty  of  sun,  and 
with  the  top  of  the  bulb  only  about  an  inch  under 
ground.  In  a  poor  soil  give  it  a  good  dose  of  cow 
manure  well  under  the  bulb.  Then  never  disturb  it, 
and  it  will  probably  triumph  over  the  disease,  even 
in  districts  where  the  disease  is  rampant.  Lilium 
testaceum  must  also  come  into  our  anthology.  It  is 
even  easier  to  grow  than  the  Madonna  Lily,  and 


BEST  HARDY  PERENNIALS  307 

needs  the  same  culture,  and  where  it  thrives  it  in- 
creases at  a  great  pace.  It  has  apricot  coloured  flowers 
with  bright  red  anthers,  and  grows  taller  than  the 
Madonna  Lily.  It  does  not  mind  disturbance  so  much, 
and  is  almost  as  beautiful.  It  makes  a  magnificent 
contrast  with  the  Belladonna  Larkspur.  These  are 
the  two  chief  garden  lilies.  Others  are  beautiful  and 
easy,  but  not  good  enough  to  be  among  our  fifty  plants. 
Then  there  are  Paeonies.  Among  these  it  is  impossible 
to  make  a  final  choice,  but  there  is  none  more  beau- 
tiful, robust,  and  free-flowering  than  The  Bride,  a 
large,  pure  white  single  variety  of  Pseonia  albiflora. 
Columbines  are  even  more  difficult  to  choose.  Aquile- 
gia  caerulea  is  not  a  true  perennial  in  most  gardens; 
A.  glandulosa  and  the  hybrid  Stuartii  are  very  capri- 
cious. The  long-spurred  hybrids  are  not  fixed  and 
have  no  names;  but  they  are  the  Columbines  for  the 
ordinary  gardener,  and  there  is  no  flower  in  the  gar- 
den to  beat  a  fine  blue  and  white  hybrid  of  A.  caerulea, 
with  a  thoroughly  robust  habit. 

The  Dropmore  variety  of  Anchusa  italica  must 
come  in  our  anthology,  although  it  will  die  out  after 
a  year  or  two  if  not  propagated  by  ordinary  or  root 
cuttings.  It  is,  however,  the  finest  of  all  blue  border 
plants,  and  cuttings  are  very  easily  struck.  The  new 
pale  blue  variety,  Opal,  is  almost  as  beautiful.  Among 
the  Campanulas  we  have  no  hesitation  in  choosing 
C.  persicifolia,  variety  grandiflora.  This  is  a  plant 
to  be  raised  from  seed.  The  seedlings  will  vary  both 
in  the  colour  and  the  size  of  their  flowers.  The  best 


308  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

should  be  chosen  and  perpetuated.  Platycodon  grandi- 
florum  is  closely  related  to  the  Campanulas,  and  a 
valuable  low-growing  border  plant.  We  choose  its 
dwarf  variety  Mariesii,  and  with  this  should  be  grown 
(Enothera  macrocarpa  for  the  contrast  both  of  their 
colour  and  growth.  There  are  many  fine  (Enotheras, 
but  this  is  the  best  perennial  one  for  the  ordinary 
garden.  It  can  be  very  easily  raised  from  seed,  and 
flowers  for  a  long  time.  There  is  no  better  plant  for 
the  front  of  the  border.  Centaurea  montana  is  a 
humble  plant  and  spreads  like  a  weed;  but  it  is  very 
beautiful  in  its  blue,  white,  and  pink  varieties,  and 
has  the  great  merit  of  growing  anywhere  and  flowering 
early.  If  it  were  not  so  easy,  it  would  be  prized,  and 
it  deserves  to  be  more  prized  for  its  easiness.  An- 
other humble  and  slighted  plant  is  Nepeta  mussini, 
which  has  a  peculiar  modest  beauty  both  of  flower 
and  growth,  and  will  flourish  anywhere.  It  is  a  most 
valuable  plant  to  give  some  quietness  and  neatness 
to  the  front  of  a  gay  border.  It  combines  beautifully 
with  the  giant  Thrift,  Armeria  cephalotes,  another 
plant  of  the  highest  merit  and  too  little  seen  in  gar- 
dens. There  is  a  richly  coloured  variety  of  this  called 
rubra,  the  deep  pink  flowers  of  which  contrast  well 
with  the  dark  lavender  of  the  Nepeta.  With  both  of 
these  may  be  associated  the  beautiful  Polemonium 
rep  tans.  All  Polemoniums  are  fine  plants,  but  this 
is  the  best,  both  in  colour  and  in  habit,  and  it  is  quite 
easy  to  grow. 

Erigeron  speciosus  is  another  plant  often  slighted 


BEST  HARDY  PERENNIALS  309 

because  of  its  easiness,  but  it  has  many  merits  besides 
that  and  deserves  a  place  in  our  anthology.  It  can 
be  grown  with  the  Oriental  poppy  for  a  fine  bold  con- 
trast, not  with  one  of  the  sickly  new  varieties,  but  with 
some  splendid  deep  scarlet  form  such  as  Goliath. 
The  great  defect  of  Oriental  poppies  is  that  they  are 
untidy  after  they  have  flowered.  Miss  Jekyll  advises 
that  Gypsophila  paniculata  should  be  grown  among 
them  so  as  to  cover  their  untidiness.  This  is  a  good 
idea,  and  Gypsophila,  of  course,  comes  into  our  an- 
thology except  for  gardens  with  very  heavy  soils. 
Gypsophila  suggests  a  plant  which  is  a  perfect  mate 
for  it,  but  which  ought  not  to  be  in  our  anthology  at 
all.  The  hybrid  Pentstemons  are  not  hardy  in  win- 
ter or  in  cold  gardens.  But  they  are  so  easily  raised 
from  seed  or  cuttings,  and  they  are  so  valuable,  that 
every  garden  ought  to  contain  them.  But  if  we  are 
not  allowed  to  include  them  we  must  insist  upon  P. 
barbatus,  which  is  hardy  in  most  gardens,  and  partic- 
ularly upon  its  variety  Torreyi,  with  its  coral-red 
flowers.  We  must  also  insist  upon  Hollyhocks,  which 
are  not  true  perennials  perhaps,  but  should  be  in 
every  garden  big  enough  for  them.  Raise  them  from 
seed,  and,  if  possible,  sow  it  where  the  plants  are  to 
remain,  and  then  they  will  probably  escape  the  dis- 
ease. It  is  difficult  to  choose  among  the  Anemones, 
but  for  the  ordinary  border  there  is  none  to  equal 
the  ordinary  white  Anemone  japonica.  It  is  still 
more  difficult  to  choose  among  Irises,  but  without 
further  argument  we  name  the  variety  of  Iris  pallida 


310  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

dalmatica  called  Princess  Beatrice.  At  least  there 
is  no  more  beautiful  garden  flower  in  existence.  Then 
there  are  the  Violas  or  tufted  Pansies;  a  choice  is 
impossible  among  these.  But  there  is  nothing  to  beat 
Florizel  for  beauty  and  vigour,  though  there  are 
others  to  equal  it.  We  name  it  because  one  variety 
must  be  named;  and  if  we  are  to  choose  a  particular 
pink,  we  will  have  Albino  for  the  beauty  of  its  flowers, 
as  fine  as  those  of  a  white  carnation.  Of  the  Phloxes 
we  scarcely  dare  name  one.  But  there  is  none  so  bril- 
liant in  colour  as  Coquelicot,  though  others  have  a 
better  constitution.  Among  Michaelmas  Daisies  we 
choose  Aster  acris,  but  only  for  the  sake  of  choosing 
one.  It  has  this  advantage  over  most,  that  it  does 
not  spread  all  over  the  border  or  need  constant  divi- 
sion if  it  is  not  to  deteriorate;  and  there  is  none  more 
beautiful.  Among  Funkias  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
choosing  F.  Sieboldii  for  the  beauty  of  its  glaucous 
leaves;  but  the  Day  Lilies  are  much  more  difficult 
to  choose.  H.  aurantiaca  major  is  always  said  to  be 
the  finest,  but  it  usually  prefers  not  to  flower.  We 
prefer  H.  Thunbergii,  which  has  a  sweet  scent  and 
clear  yellow  flowers.  The  Kniphofias  are  no  easier, 
but  there  is  none  to  surpass  K.  caulescens  either  in 
flower  or  in  leaf,  and  it  is  very  easily  increased. 

There  are  innumerable  Veronicas,  but  none  so  bril- 
liant in  the  border  as  Veronica  amethystina,  the  best 
variety  of  which  has  bright  blue  flowers.  Among  the 
Flaxes  none  remains  so  long  in  bloom  as  Linum  perenne, 
although  L.  narbonnense  has  larger  blossoms.  Of  the 


BEST  HARDY  PERENNIALS  311 

Yuccas  Y.  gloriosa  is  far  the  most  splendid  when  in 
flower,  but  it  flowers  rarely.  Y.  filamentosa  is  a  free 
bloomer  and  also  a  splendid  plant.  Scabiosa  caucasica 
is  not  a  true  perennial  always,  but  it  will  last  for  some 
years  in  most  good,  well-drained  borders,  and  can 
be  easily  raised  from  seed.  Its  beauty  should  give 
it  a  place  in  any  anthology.  Of  the  Spiraeas  we  choose 
S.  aruncus,  an  obvious  but  sound  selection.  The 
Meadow  Rues  are  not  showy  plants,  but  they  have 
a  peculiar  quiet  beauty,  and  there  is  none  so  good  as 
the  purple-flowered  variety  of  Thalietrum  aquilegi- 
folium.  The  Cranesbills  are  a  valuable  family  of 
plants.  We  are  tempted  by  Geranium  grandi- 
florum,  but  the  most  brilliant  is  the  variety  of  G. 
ibericum  called  platypetalum.  There  are  many  gar- 
den varieties  of  Potentilla,  but  none  flowers  so  long, 
has  so  delicate  a  colour,  or  is  so  ready  to  thrive  any- 
where as  Potentilla  nepalensis.  Few  of  the  genus 
Coreopsis  are  true  perennials,  but  C.  lanceolata  lives 
for  a  reasonable  number  of  years.  It  is  very  like  C. 
grandiflora,  but  rather  smaller  and  more  delicate  in 
flower. 

The  Goatsrues  are  excellent  border  plants,  with 
a  delicate  beauty  of  flower  which  would  be  more 
valued  if  they  were  less  easy  to  grow.  There  is  a  more 
compact  form  of  Galega  officinalis  which  is  perhaps 
the  best;  Spiderwort  is  another  homely  but  beauti- 
ful plant  —  Tradescantia  virginica  is  its  botanical 
name  —  and  of  many  good  varieties  the  white  one 
has  the  most  exquisite  beauty.  The  Globe  flowers 


312  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

are  all  fine  plants,  only  at  their  best  in  a  rich  moist 
soil.  New  varieties  are  now  being  produced  every 
year,  but  none  has  finer  flowers  than  the  variety  of 
Trollius  asiaticus  called  Orange  Globe.  The  Statices 
are  also  being  continually  improved,  and  some  of  the 
finer  varieties  of  Statice  latifolia  are  splendid  plants. 
It  varies  much  from  seed.  Therefore  the  plants 
should  be  seen,  if  possible,  when  in  flower,  and  a  good 
form  chosen.  Those  who  have  space  can  easily  raise 
it  from  seed  and  should  keep  only  the  seedlings  with 
the  finest  flowers. 

Incarvillea  Delavayi  is  still  a  new  plant,  and  for 
some  time  after  its  introduction  was  supposed  not 
to  be  hardy,  or  at  least  to  need  care  and  a  special 
place  in  the  rock  garden.  One  reason  for  this,  no 
doubt,  was  its  appearance  and  the  fact  that  it  be- 
longs to  a  family  in  which  are  not  many  hardy  plants. 
But  though  it  looks  as  tender  and  foreign  as  a  Glox- 
inia, it  appears  to  be  quite  hardy  in  any  light,  good 
soil,  and  it  is  a  splendid  plant  for  the  front  of  the 
border. 

There  are  some  plants  which,  however  beautiful 
they  may  be,  are  disliked  by  gardeners  because  they 
spread  like  Gout  weed.  One  of  the  worst  of  these  is 
Coronilla  varia,  and  one  cannot,  in  spite  of  its  beauty, 
recommend  it  for  any  border  whatever.  The  com- 
mon Rose-bay,  Epilobium  angustifolium,  is  almost 
as  bad;  but  the  white  variety  of  this  is  so  beautiful 
and  so  ready  to  thrive  anywhere  that  it  must  be  in- 
cluded in  our  anthology.  But  the  gardener  should 


BEST  HARDY  PERENNIALS  313 

beware  of  it,  as  it  spreads  by  underground  suckers, 
and  these  will  come  up  6  ft.  away  from  the  parent 
plant.  Sidalcea  is  also  a  very  spreading  plant,  but 
S.  Listeri,  with  delicate  pink  flowers,  is  less  trouble- 
some by  far  than  S.  Candida,  and  also  prettier.  The 
musk  mallow  (Malva  moschata)  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  our  wild  flowers,  and  well  worth  a  place 
in  any  garden;  but  the  white  variety  is  still  more 
beautiful  and  not  so  often  seen  in  gardens  as  it  de- 
serves. Of  the  St.  John's  Worts  Hypericum  Mose- 
rianum,  a  half  shrubby  species,  is  the  best  and  a  beau- 
tiful border  plant.  Most  of  the  Erodiums  are  rock 
plants,  but  E.  Manescavi  should  be  in  every  garden, 
if  only  because  it  is  one  of  the  longest  blooming  of 
all  hardy  plants.  It  is  not  brilliant,  but  its  flowers 
have  a  quiet  and  delicate  beauty  of  their  own.  The 
most  familiar  Saxifrage,  of  course,  is  London  Pride, 
but  a  finer  plant  altogether  for  the  cool  border  is  a 
variety  of  S.  rotundifolia  sold  as  S.  Lasiophylla.  This 
is  probably  not  its  true  name,  but  it  is  the  only  one 
we  know  it  by.  It  has  much  larger  flowers  than  those 
of  London  Pride  and  also  prettier  leaves.  It  is  a 
little  known  plant,  but  of  the  highest  value.  Tiarella 
cordifolia  is  another  beautiful  plant  of  the  same  family 
for  the  front  of  the  cool  border,  well  known,  but  not 
so  much  grown  as  it  deserves.  We  have  mentioned 
fifty  plants  and  there  are  dozens  of  others  which  we 
feel  we  have  unjustly  neglected.  But  some  of  them 
are  a  little  difficult,  like  the  beautiful  Mertensia  vir- 
ginica,  which  where  it  thrives  makes  an  exquisite 


314  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

contrast  with  Tiarella;  and  some  are  not  exactly  to 
our  taste.  No  doubt  also  there  are  obvious  omis- 
sions in  the  anthology,  due  not  to  perversity,  but  to 
forgetfulness.  But  that  anthology  is  not  meant  to 
be  dogmatic.  At  the  worst  it  can  only  be  disagreed 
with.  At  the  best  it  may  make  the  reader  more  in 
love  than  ever  with  some  old  favourites,  and  intro- 
duce him  to  some  new  ones. 


THE  FIFTY  BEST  ROCK  PLANTS 

IT  is  not  quite  so  difficult  to  make  a  choice  of  the 
fifty  best  rock  plants  as  of  the  fifty  best  hardy 
perennials;  but  no  list  is  likely  to  please  any  one  very 
much  except  the  maker  of  it;  and  even  he  will  proba- 
bly see  the  faults  of  it  soon  after  he  has  made  it.  One 
plant  will  seem  the  best  of  its  kind  to-day  and  another 
to-morrow.  Besides,  he  is  sure  to  forget  some  of  his 
favourite  plants.  But  still  his  list  may  contain  some 
beautiful  plants  unknown  to  some  of  his  readers,  and 
it  may  confirm  their  liking  for  others.  The  list  which 
follows  does  not  pretend  to  be  even  the  writer's  final 
choice,  but  it  will  contain  only  plants  which  he  has 
thoroughly  tested,  and  which  he  knows  can  be  made 
to  flourish  without  any  great  amount  of  skill.  Some 
of  them  are  quite  easy,  others  not  quite  so  easy;  but 
none  are  inexplicably  capricious,  and  none  demand 
conditions  which  the  ordinary  well-made  rock  garden 
in  the  country  cannot  supply.  They  are  chosen  first 
for  their  beauty,  next  for  their  perfect  fitness  for  the 
rock  garden,  and  last  for  their  comparative  ease  of 
culture.  None  of  the  larger  shrubs  suitable  for  the 
rock  garden  are  included  among  them,  and  no  bulbs. 
Some  are  not  rock  plants  in  their  native  countries, 
but  all  will  look  better  and  probably  do  better  in  the 
rock  garden  than  anywhere  else. 

315 


316  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

If  the  present  writer  were  allowed  to  grow  only 
one  rock  plant,  he  would  without  hesitation  choose 
Lithospermum  prostratum.  It  has  only  two  faults 
—  namely,  that  it  will  not  endure  lime  in  the  soil 
and  that  it  is  not  easy  to  propagate.  Otherwise  it  is 
as  perfect  as  a  plant  can  be.  It  is  a  small  shrub,  quite 
prostrate  in  its  growth,  and  for  some  months  of  spring 
and  early  summer  covered  with  brilliant  blue  flowers, 
while  it  often  bears  again,  though  more  sparsely,  in 
the  autumn.  It  is  always  described  in  books  as  quite 
easy  to  grow.  Yet  one  often  sees  poor  plants  of  it 
even  in  pretentious  rock  gardens.  The  reason  is  that 
gardeners  often  will  not  give  it  what  it  wants.  Its 
wants  are  well  known,  and,  except  on  limy  soils,  easily 
supplied  —  but  they  must  be  supplied  if  it  is  to  thrive. 
It  will  do  well  either  on  the  north  or  the  south  side  of 
the  rock  garden;  but  does  not  like  too  hot  a  place  or 
too  poor  a  soil.  It  roots  very  deeply,  and  should  be 
planted  in  at  least  2  ft.  of  good  fibrous  soil  and  leaf- 
mould,  and  placed  so  that  its  roots  can  run  under  a 
large  rock.  Also  it  should  never  be  disturbed,  and  if 
possible  it  should  be  sheltered  from  easterly  winds, 
which  often  damage  it  in  winter  and  early  spring. 
When  it  is  well  grown  it  spreads  into  a  bush  several 
feet  across,  and  in  flower  is  almost  as  brilliant  as  any 
gentian.  It  must  be  propagated  by  cuttings,  which 
are  sometimes  difficult  to  strike.  These  are  usually 
taken  after  it  has  flowered,  and  consist  of  fresh  growth 
with  a  little  of  the  old  wood,  but  good  healthy  shoots 
taken  in  April  will  often  root  better. 


FIFTY  BEST  ROCK  PLANTS  317 

An  excellent  contrast  to  the  Lithospermum  is 
Arenaria  montana,  which  has  large  white  flowers. 
But  care  must  be  taken  that  the  Arenaria  does  not 
smother  the  Lithospermum,  as  it  grows  at  a  great 
pace.  It  will  thrive  anywhere  except  in  deep  shade  or 
a  bog,  and  few  rock  plants  are  more  beautiful.  It  can 
be  raised  from  seed  almost  as  easily  as  mustard,  or 
any  shoot  will  root  quickly.  It  is  equally  beautiful 
mixed  with  Saponaria  ocymoides,  another  rampant 
plant,  also  of  the  Pink  family,  and  with  bright  pink 
blossoms.  This  also  should  be  raised  from  seed,  and 
cut  back  whenever  it  gets  leggy.  A  small  shrub  of 
the  highest  beauty  and  value  is  Daphne  cneorum, 
especially  the  finer  variety  of  it  called  majus.  This, 
like  the  Lithospermum,  has  certain  definite  wants. 
It  thrives  best  among  rocks  and  in  the  same  kind  of 
soil  as  the  Lithospermum.  It  must  not  have  either 
too  dry  or  too  damp  a  place,  but  may  be  grown  either 
on  the  south  or  the  north  side  of  a  sunny  open  rock 
garden.  There  is  some  dispute  as  to  whether  it  likes 
lime,  but  it  will  certainly  thrive  without  it.  It  is 
difficult  to  increase  except  by  layers,  and  these  take 
some  time  to  root.  Whenever  the  shoots  grow  leggy 
they  should  be  layered,  and  then  the  plant  will  spread 
and  increase  in  vigour.  It  is  beautiful  at  all  times 
of  the  year,  but  the  beauty  and  scent  of  its  pink  blos- 
soms are  incomparable.  It  has  the  reputation  of 
being  capricious;  but  this  is  probably  because  it  dis- 
likes disturbance,  bad  drainage,  sour  soil,  and  an  ex- 
posed position.  It  should  not  be  planted  anywhere 


318  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

near  the  Lithospermum,  but  a  good  contrast  to  it  is 
Saxifraga  cotyledon,  the  most  useful  of  all  the  rosette 
Saxifrages.  There  are  several  varieties  of  this,  but 
they  do  not  differ  much.  It  can  be  easily  raised  from 
seed  or  increased  by  offsets,  and  flowers  very  freely. 
It  likes  a  rich,  light  soil,  and  does  not  need  lime.  It 
should  be  given  plenty  of  space,  as  each  rosette  will 
grow  into  large  patches.  There  are,  of  course,  in- 
numerable Saxifrages,  and  at  least  twenty  of  them 
might  claim  to  be  among  the  best  fifty  rock  plants. 
We  must  include  one  more  of  these  and  we  choose 
S.  Burseriana  major  for  its  extreme  beauty.  It  needs 
some  care  and  should  be  grown  in  a  cool,  well-drained 
place,  where  it  gets  sun  for  about  half  the  day.  The 
soil  should  consist  of  fibrous  loam,  leaf-mould,  and 
mortar  rubble,  and  the  plant  should  be  surrounded 
with  rubble  or  chips  of  rock.  It  is  small  and  must 
be  secluded  from  all  rampant  plants.  There  is  the 
same  difficulty  with  the  Campanulas  as  with  the 
Saxifrages.  It  is  hard  to  make  a  choice  among  them. 
We  choose  the  best  variety  of  Campanula  garganica, 
the  name  of  which  appears  to  be  uncertain.  It  has 
pale  starry  blue  flowers,  is  easily  raised  from  seed, 
and  thrives  in  any  well-drained  open  place  among 
rocks  and  in  rich,  light  soil.  There  is  no  Campanula 
more  beautiful  either  in  flower  or  in  habit.  If  a  more 
vigorous  Campanula  is  required,  we  must  add  C. 
muralis,  especially  its  larger  variety,  Portenschlagiana. 
This  will  grow  anywhere  on  the  rock  garden,  and  looks 
its  best  contrasted  with  Silene  alpestris,  an  exquisite 


FIFTY  BEST  ROCK  PLANTS  319 

but  most  vigorous  plant,  with  flowers  like  those  of 
a  delicate  little  white  pink.  Both  of  these  should 
be  left  undisturbed  for  some  years  after  they  are 
planted.  The  Silene  does  not  like  a  very  hot,  dry 
place.  For  a  contrast  to  C.  garganica  there  is  nothing 
to  surpass  Asperula  hirta,  a  little  woodruff  with  deli- 
cate pink  flowers,  that  looks  as  if  it  would  be  difficult, 
but  is  almost  as  easy  as  Aubretia.  But  even  more 
beautiful  and  worthy  of  the  best  position  in  the  rock 
garden  is  Asperula  athoa  (or  suberosa),  a  downy  little 
plant  with  flowers  like  pink  coral,  which  it  bears  all 
through  the  summer.  This  is  not  difficult,  but  should 
be  planted  in  a  dry  fissure  between  the  rocks  in  full 
sun  and  looking  south,  in  a  compost  consisting  mainly 
of  mortar  rubble  with  a  little  fibrous  soil  and  leaf- 
mould.  It  is  not  a  plant  for  a  cold  climate,  but  may 
be  easily  grown  in  the  south  of  England,  and  can  be 
increased  by  careful  division  in  spring  or  by  cuttings 
taken  at  the  same  time.  It  should  also  be  planted 
in  spring.  Of  all  rock  plants  the  Pinks  are  the  most 
valuable  genus,  and  if  one  species  is  to  be  chosen 
among  them  we  choose  Dianthus  neglectus.  It  is 
not  the  easiest,  but  easier  than  D.  alpinus  or  the 
wonderful  D.  callizonus;  and  it  is  perhaps  the  most 
beautiful  of  all.  It  can  be  easily  raised  from  seed, 
but  hybridizes  too  readily  with  other  species.  Some 
seedlings  will  probably  be  inferior,  some  true,  and 
some  may  turn  out  splendid  hybrids,  finer  even  than 
the  species.  It  is  a  small  plant  with  grassy  leaves 
and  brilliant  pink  flowers  washed  with  yellow  on  the 


320  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

underside  of  the  petals.  It  thrives  best  in  fissures 
between  big  rocks  looking  south  and  in  poor,  rubbly 
soil.  It  certainly  likes  lime. 

The  Androsaces  are  a  difficult  family,  but  A.  carnea 
is  not  so  difficult  as  some,  and  very  beautiful.  It 
should  be  planted  in  a  cool,  well-drained  position,  as 
it  can  endure  neither  drought  in  summer  nor  stagnant 
moisture  in  winter.  In  a  hot  rock  garden  it  will  do 
best  with  a  northwest  aspect.  The  soil  should  con- 
sist of  fibrous  loam,  silver  sand,  and  leaf-mould.  It 
grows  best  in  a  level  pocket,  if  it  is  sharply  drained, 
and  cannot  endure  lime.  It  should  be  top-dressed 
with  leaf-mould  and  silver  sand  in  the  spring.  It 
can  be  raised  from  seed,  if  this  is  sown  when  fresh, 
and  it  often  ripens  seed  in  England.  Near  A.  carnea 
may  be  grown  the  exquisite  Oxalis  enneaphylla,  a 
much  easier  plant.  This  likes  a  rich,  light,  stony 
soil,  and  to  be  left  alone  when  once  planted.  It  bears 
milky  white  flowers,  large  for  the  size  of  the  plant, 
in  late  spring,  and  dies  down  in  the  autumn.  Another 
beautiful  plant  for  a  cool,  well-drained  place  is  Pole- 
monium  confertum.  This  is  rare,  but  can  be  easily 
raised  from  seed  or  increased  by  careful  division  in 
spring.  It  has  delicate  pale  lavender  blossoms,  and 
is  more  beautiful  even  than  its  white  variety,  P.  mel- 
litum.  It  likes  a  light  soil  enriched  with  leaf-mould. 

For  the  hottest  places  in  the  rock  garden  there  are 
no  plants  better  than  the  Aethionemas,  and  of  these 
E.  grandiflorum  is  the  most  brilliant  in  colour.  It  is 
hardy  enough  to  endure  most  winters  and  can  be 


FIFTY  BEST  ROCK  PLANTS  321 

easily  raised  from  seed,  especially  if  sown  when  fresh 
or  from  cuttings  taken  in  spring.  All  the  Aethionemas 
like  lime  and  a  poor  soil.  Another  excellent  plant 
for  the  same  kind  of  position  is  Onosma  tauricum 
(Golden  Drop).  In  a  dry  place  and  poor  soil  this 
grows  to  a  considerable  size,  and  flowers  all  the  sum- 
mer. Its  chief  need  is  protection  from  stagnant  mois- 
ture in  the  winter.  It  should  be  increased  by  cuttings 
taken  either  in  April  or  the  autumn.  The  cuttings 
must  be  kept  as  dry  as  possible,  as  they  are  apt  to 
damp  off.  The  Erodiums  are  all  plants  for  dry  places, 
except  the  beautiful  little  E.  Reichardii,  which  is  not 
very  hardy.  The  best  of  them,  perhaps,  is  E.  gut- 
tatum,  neat  in  habit  and  with  delicate  white  spotted 
flowers.  It  is  a  very  easy  plant  for  sunny  rock  work 
and  often  ripens  seed  in  England.  Geranium  argen- 
teum  is  the  best  of  the  Cranesbills  for  the  rock  garden, 
more  beautiful  than  G.  cinereum  because  of  its  silvery 
leaves.  It  should  be  planted  in  a  deep  crevice  between 
rocks  looking  full  south,  and  must  be  top-dressed  or 
replanted  if  it  grows  out  of  the  ground.  It  shares 
this  habit  with  many  of  the  Alpine  primulas,  among 
which  it  is  difficult  to  make  a  choice.  But  certainly 
none  is  more  easy  or  beautiful  than  the  white  Primula 
nivalis  (the  true  name  of  which  appears  to  be  P. 
pubescens  alba).  This  thrives  in  any  cool  place  in 
light  rich  soil,  which  should  be  2  ft.  deep  at  least. 
All  the  Alpine  primulas  like  to  be  surrounded  with 
stones. 

Few  Gentians   are   quite  easy,   and   not  long  ago 


322  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

Gentiana  verna  was  supposed  to  be  almost  impossible 
in  England,  chiefly  because  it  was  treated  as  a  rock 
plant.  It  should  be  grown  in  a  flat  sunny  basin  where 
it  will  catch  all  the  rain.  If  this  is  well  drained  it 
will  not  suffer  from  damp  in  the  winter.  The  soil 
should  be  deep,  half  loam  and  half  leaf-mould.  It  is 
best  planted  in  early  spring,  and  the  most  important 
point  in  its  culture  is  to  top-dress  it  with  leaf-mould 
at  intervals  through  the  summer  and  to  water  it  fre- 
quently in  dry  weather.  The  plants  must  be  very  firm 
in  the  soil,  and  it  is  well  to  tread  on  them  whenever 
they  seem  to  be  at  all  loose.  Strong  plants  should 
be  obtained  to  start  with,  and  these  are  best  got  from 
Ireland.  With  these  precautions  it  is  easy  to  grow 
where  the  air  is  pure,  and  there  is  no  need  to  speak  of 
its  beauty.  It  should  never  be  disturbed  when  estab- 
lished. 

The  culture  of  Ramondia  Pyrenaica  is  now  fairly 
well  understood.  It  is  most  splendid  near  a  water- 
fall, but  most  gardeners  cannot  provide  it  with  this. 
It  will  thrive,  however,  among  rocks  where  it  is  placed 
so  that  the  sun  never  strikes  upon  it,  and  is  best  planted 
so  that  the  roots  run  horizontally  into  the  ground. 
It  likes  a  rich  soil  of  loam,  peat,  and  leaf -mould,  though 
peat  is  not  necessary,  and  is  not  averse  to  lime. 

Rosa  alpina  is  the  only  rose  suitable  to  the  rock 
garden,  and  it  is  suitable  only  to  large  rock  gardens. 
It  grows  rather  more  than  a  foot  high  and  has  bright 
pink  flowers.  It  needs  space,  as  it  spreads  by  suckers 
and  prefers  a  cool  place  and  rich  soil.  It  is  very  easily 


FIFTY  BEST  ROCK  PLANTS  323 

grown.  It  varies  a  good  deal  in  size,  and  pains  should 
be  taken  to  get  the  dwarfest  variety. 

There  are  not  many  rock  plants  that  flower  in  au- 
tumn, and  one  of  the  best  of  these,  where  there  is 
space  for  it,  is  Polygonum  vaccinifolium,  a  perfectly 
prostrate  Knotweed  with  pink  blossoms  in  September 
and  October.  It  spreads  rapidly,  and  its  shoots  root 
in  the  ground  as  they  spread.  It  should  be  grown  in 
poor  soil  and  in  an  open  position  on  the  north  side 
if  it  is  to  flower  well.  It  can  be  readily  increased  by 
rooted  shoots  cut  off  and  replanted  in  spring,  but 
should  not  be  disturbed  when  established.  Other 
plants  that  will  flower  late  in  the  year  are  Papaver 
alpinus  and  Linaria  alpina.  These  often  die  after 
flowering,  but  if  raised  from  seed  in  spring  in  a  cold 
frame  and  planted  out  as  soon  as  possible  they  will 
come  into  flower  about  July  and  continue  to  bloom 
till  the  frosts.  They  can  also  be  sown  where  they 
are  to  bloom.  They  will  flourish  in  any  well-drained 
position  not  too  dry  and  seed  themselves  profusely. 
Both  are  extremely  beautiful. 

Few  of  the  Pentstemons  are  true  perennials,  but 
P.  glaber  alpinus  lasts  as  long  as  any,  and  is  a  true 
rock  plant.  It  varies  in  colour,  but  the  best  varieties 
are  a  beautiful  glass  blue.  It  can  be  easily  raised 
from  seed  or  increased  by  cuttings.  Of  the  Colum- 
bines, Aquilegia  Pyrenaica  is  the  dwarfest  and  a  very 
beautiful  plant.  It  is  easy  to  grow  in  a  cool  well- 
drained  place,  but  difficult  to  get.  A.  alpina  is  never 
seen  in  its  true  beauty  in  England.  It  seems  to  de- 


324  STUDIES  IN  GARDENING 

teriorate  in  cultivation.  Of  the  low-growing  spring 
Phloxes  there  are  many  varieties,  but  none  so  beauti- 
ful or  compact  as  the  white  Phlox  Nelsoni  and  the 
pink  P.  Vivid.  These  should  be  mixed  among  bold 
rocks  and  in  a  light  rich  soil.  In  damp  or  shady  places 
they  are  apt  to  die  off  in  winter.  If  they  are  top- 
dressed  with  leaf-mould  the  shoots  will  root,  and  this 
is  the  best  way  to  increase  them. 

There  are  several  Alpine  Ranunculi,  but  none  more 
beautiful  or  vigorous  than  R.  amplexicaulis,  which 
likes  a  cool  place  and  a  soil  of  loam  and  leaf -mould. 
Of  all  the  Violas,  the  new  Viola  gracilis  from  Greece 
seems  the  most  valuable  for  the  rock  garden.  It  ap- 
pears to  be  hardy  and  vigorous  and  has  bright  but 
delicate  purple  flowers.  It  should  be  grown  in  a  warm 
place  and  light,  rich  soil,  at  least  until  its  capacity 
for  standing  our  winters  is  better  known.  Among 
Veronicas  we  choose  V.  prostrata,  among  Potentillas, 
P.  alba  —  both  most  beautiful  plants  not  so  often 
grown  as  they  should  be.  P.  alba  flowers  for  six  months 
of  the  year,  and  will  grow  almost  anywhere.  In  a 
large  rock  garden  space  should  be  found  for  Nierem- 
bergia  rivularis,  which  in  England  thrives  best  in  a 
flat,  sunny,  well-drained  place  and  should  be  top- 
dressed  with  leaf-mould  when  it  starts  into  growth 
in  spring.  It  increases  at  a  great  pace,  and  flowers 
for  a  long  time.  Dryas  octopetala  also  needs  a  large 
space,  and  flowers  most  freely  in  full  sun  when  it  is 
protected  from  drought  by  large  rocks.  It  likes  a 
strong  dose  of  lime  in  the  soil.  There  are  many  good 


FIFTY  BEST  ROCK  PLANTS  325 

Achilleas  for  the  rock  garden,  all  liking  a  dry,  sunny 
situation,  but  the  best  is  A.  argentea  (rightly  called 
Tanacetum  argenteum).  This  is  beautiful  both  for 
its  silvery  foliage  and  for  its  pure  white  flowers.  There 
is  no  better  plant  for  the  top  of  the  rock  garden,  and 
it  may  be  mixed  with  the  Aethionemas. 

Few  of  the  dwarf  Hypericums  are  quite  hardy;  but 
H.  reptans  will  survive  most  winters  if  planted  in  a 
warm  place  where  its  roots  are  protected  by  large 
rocks,  and  it  is  the  most  beautiful  when  in  flower. 
It  likes  a  rich,  light  soil,  and  may  be  increased  by 
cuttings  taken  in  spring.  Near  it  may  be  grown 
Edraianthus  serpyllifolius,  a  little  bell  flower  of  a 
brilliant  purple  colour,  not  at  all  difficult  to  grow  in 
fissures  of  the  rocks  and  in  light,  rubbly  soil.  This 
is  also  best  increased  by  cuttings  taken  in  spring. 
One  of  the  earliest  of  all  spring  flowers  is  Iberis  saxa- 
tilis,  the  smallest  of  the  Candytufts,  and  not  always 
easy  to  obtain  true.  It  likes  a  limy  soil  and  a  fissure 
between  rocks  looking  full  south.  It  is  quite  pros- 
trate, and  the  largest  plants  are  only  a  few  inches 
across.  House-leeks  are  innumerable  in  variety,  but 
the  best  for  the  rock  garden  is  Sempervivum  arach- 
noideum  and  its  larger  variety  S.  laggeri.  These  are 
quite  easy  in  any  high  and  dry  sunny  place.  They 
like  a  fissure  where  they  can  spread  out  over  the  face 
of  the  rocks. 

All  the  plants  mentioned  in  this  list  are  only  sug- 
gestions, and  could  be  matched  with  other  plants  as 
beautiful.  The  writer  chooses  them  because  he  has 


326  STUDIES   IN   GARDENING 

tried  them  all  and  knows  their  beauty  and  that  they 
can  be  grown  with  a  moderate  amount  of  skill  and 
pains.  He  could  make  another  list  almost  as  much 
to  his  taste  —  and  perhaps  more  to  the  taste  of  others. 
There  are  now  too  many  rock  plants,  and  the  be- 
ginner is  apt  to  be  bewildered  among  them.  But  if 
he  stocks  his  rock  garden  with  the  plants  we  have 
mentioned,  he  will  have  nothing  worthless  and  noth- 
ing that  he  need  despair  of  growing. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


MlCROPHYLLA,  218 

Acantholimons,  50 

Achillea,  10;  argentea,  325;  huteri, 
176;  rupestris,  176 

Acis  autumnalis,  182 

Aethionema,  culture,  50,  56;  as  rock 
plants,  320,  321;  coridifolium,  11, 
73;  grandiflorum,  11,  320;  pul- 
chellum,  11,  73 

Afghanica,  75 

Ageratum,  172 

Allium,  79;  neapolitanum,  79 

Alpine  flowers,  associations,  262; 
lack  of  perfume,  262 

Alpine  plants,  use  of  term,  48;  cul- 
ture, 48-59;  hardiness,  49;  leaf- 
mould  for,  73,  74;  raising  from 
seed,  57,  58;  soil  for,  58,  59;  top- 
dressing,  53 

Alstroemeria,  32,  278 

Alyssum  maritimum,  181;  saxatile, 
9,176;  saxatile  citrinum,  9;  saxa- 
tile compactum,  219 

Amaryllis  belladonna,  268 

Anchusa  italica,  278;  Dropmore 
variety,  307;  Opal  variety,  307 

Androsace,  as  rock  plants,  178,  320; 
carnea,  54,  73,  320;  ciliata,  54; 
coronopifolia,  73;  lactea,  73; 
lanuginosa,  178;  verna,  74;  vil- 
losa,  54;  vitaliana,  54 

Anemone,  time  for  planting,  271; 
treated  like  bulbs,  272;  raising 
from  seed,  278;  alpina,  217;  co- 
ronaria,  32,  271,  278;  fulgens,  32, 
271,  278;  hortensis,  271;  japo- 
nica,  32,  309;  stellata,  271;  sul- 
phurea,  217;  verna,  217 

Angels'  tears,  name,  21 


Annuals,  culture,  165-173;  suitable 
soil  for,  34;  use  as  a  stop-gap,  165, 
173;  autumn  sowing  of,  168-170; 
best  sown  in  spring,  170, 171;  half- 
hardy,  171,  172;  in  rock  garden, 
181,  182 

Anomatheca,  267;  cruenta,  182 

Antirrhinum  asarina,  20,  50,  179, 
180;  ma  jus,  20 

Aplopappus  Brandegef,  178 

Apple  trees,  245 

April  garden  notes,  70-80 

Aquilegia,  name,  20;  alpina,  66, 
323;  caerulea,  63,  64,  307;  cali- 
fornica,  64;  canadensis,  64;  chry- 
santha,  64;  glandulosa,  64-66, 
157,  158,  307;  Jaeschkanii,  64; 
pyrenaica,  55,  67,  216,  323;  Skin- 
neri,  64;  Stuartii,  66,  157,  158, 
307;  vulgaris,  60,  62,  63;  Witt- 
manniana,  66 

Arabis,  for  banks,  9;  97 

Arenaria  Balearica,  218;  montana, 
9,  21,  214,  317;  tetraquetra,  176, 
219 

Armeria  caespitosa,  50;  cephalotes, 
308;  laucheana,  10;  maritima, 
10;  rubra,  308 

Artemisia  argentea,  175;  sericea,  12, 
175 

Asperula  athoa,  319;  hirta,  214,  319 

Aster  acris,  310 

Astragalus  hypoglottis,  10 

Atragene  alpina,  55,  216 

Atropa  belladonna,  248 

Aubrietia,  219 ;  suitability  for  banks, 
9;  in  borders,  29;  raising  from 
seed,  75,  76 

Auriculas,  156,  280 


329 


330 


INDEX 


Azaleas,  27, 120,  239,  244,  259;  cut- 
ting back,  160 

BACON,  Lord,  on  perfume  of  flowers, 
261 

Banks,  1-14;  in  garden  design,  154, 
155;  neglect  of,  1-6;  suitable 
plants  for,  7-14;  arrangement  of 
plants  on,  14;  use  of  rocks,  7 

Bartonia  aurea,  169 

Begonias,  100 

Bellis  caerulescens,  179;  perennis,  15 

Berberis  Darwinii,  242;  dulcis  nana, 
175;  stenophylla,  242 

Bergamot,  32 

Biennials,  soil  for,  34 

Bleeding  Heart,  name,  19 

Bluebells,  250,  260 

Borago  laxiflora,  218 

Borders,  28-30,  183-191 

Broom,  for  banks,  12 

Bulbs,  treatment  of,  192-200;  suit- 
ability for  banks,  11;  suitable  soil 
for,  31;  in  the  grass,  79,  80;  prop- 
agation, 110-112;  cheap,  111, 
112;  use  of  manure  on,  117,  118, 
265;  removal  of,  122;  use  in  her- 
baceous border,  191;  regimental 
arrangement  condemned,  193- 
195;  carpeting  with  other  plants, 
194;  varieties  for  spring  planting, 
264-272 

Buttercup,  name,  15 

CALANDRINTA  UMBELLATA,  for 
banks,  11;  culture,  179,  180 

Calceolaria,  associations,  246-248 

Callirhoe  involucrs,ta,  for  banks,  11 

Camassias,  195 

Campanula,  culture,  32, 36-47, 50;  on 
northern  slopes,  214;  raising  from 
seed,  278;  wild  nature  of,  291; 
abietina,  45;  alliariaefolia,  39;  Alli- 
oni,  46;  barbata,  42;  Burghalti,  39; 
caespitosa,  42,  43,  179,  181,  214; 


canterbury-bell,  37;  carpatica, 
41,  181,  214,  278;  cenisia,  46; 
Elatines,  46;  excisa,  46;  Fergus- 
sonii,  40;  fragilis,  45,  46;  gar- 
ganica,  44,  45,  214,  318;  glome- 
rata,  40;  grandiflora,  38;  gran- 
dis,  278;  haylodgensis,  44;  Hen- 
dersonii,  40;  Hostii,  40;  isophylla, 
45,  46;  lactiflora,  39,  278;  lanata, 
46;  latifolia,  38,  39;  latifolia 
pyramidalis,  278;  latiloba,  38; 
medium,  37;  mirabilis,  41;  mura- 
lis,  43,  214,  318;  persicifolia,  38, 
98,  278,  307;  Portenschlagiana, 
318;  pulla,  43,  44,  56,  214;  pu- 
mila,  179,  214;  punctata,  40;  pu- 
silla,  42;  pyramidalis,  39;  rhom- 
boidalis,  41,  278;  rotundifolia,  40, 
41;  Scheuzeri,  214;  soldanel- 
loides,  41;  Tommasiniana,  44, 
214;  turbinata,  41,  214;  urtici- 
folia,  40;  van  Houttei,  39;  Wald- 
steiniana,  45;  Wilsoni,  44;  Zoyzii, 
46 

Candytuft,  175,  325 

Canterbury-bell,  37 

Cardinal's  flower,  name,  23 

Carnation,  81;  name,  18,  19,  23;  in 
borders,  29 

Caryophyllus,  17-19 

Catmint,  198 

Centaurea  montana,  308 

Chamaedrioides,  55 

Chamaelirion  carolinianum,  217 

Cheddar  pink,  8,  84 

Chionodoxa,  70,  79,  198,  199;  name, 
16;  planting,  12,  31 

Christmas  roses,  32 

Cinders,  use,  27 

Cistus,  175;  cutting  back,  159; 
cyprius,  188;  florentinus,  13; 
formosus,  13;  lusitanicus,  13 

Clematis,  55;  Alpine,  216;  clam- 
mula,  22 

Clipping,  its  limitations,  141-143 

Codonopsis  ovata,  219 


INDEX 


331 


Colchicums,  182,  199 

Collomia  coccinea,  169 

Colour  arrangement  of  flowers,  168 

Columbine,  name,  20;  culture,  60- 
69,  323;  in  stiff  soil,  32;  in  bor- 
ders, 68;  division  of,  68;  hybridi- 
zation of,  61-67;  raising  from 
seed,  277,  278;  renewing  from 
seed,  67,  68;  varieties,  see  under 
Aquilegia 

Coreopsis,  32;  grandiflora,  311;  lan- 
ceolata,  311 

Cornflowers,  169,  170 

Coronilla  cappadocica,  10;  varia, 
312 

Corydalis  nobilis,  303 

Cotoneaster,  name,  22;  congesta, 
175;  thymifolia,  175 

Cottage  gardens,  201,  202,  205-209 

Cranesbills,  32,  291,  311,  321 

Crinum  capense,  268;  longifolium, 
268;  Moorei,  268;  Powelli,  268 

Crocosma  aurea,  271 

Crocus,  171, 198,  199;  for  banks,  12; 
planting,  31;  pulchellus,  182,  199; 
speciosus,  182,  199;  zonatus,  182, 
199 

Crown  Imperial,  80,  195 

Cyclamen,  32,  182,  218 

Cypripedium  spectabile,  119 

Cytisus,  varieties,  13;  Ardoini,  12; 
Kewensis,  12;  praecox,  243,  244; 
Schipkaensis,  12,  13 

DAFFODIL,  70,  72,  100,  111;  associa- 
tions, 250;  in  borders,  28; 
names,  24;  planting,  31,  33;  pal- 
lidus  prsecox,  78;  Princeps,  78; 
Queen  of  Spain,  78,  79;  Sea,  270; 
Tenby,  78;  Trumpet,  33 

Dahlia,  name,  17 

Daisy,  98;   dividing,  157 

Daphne  Blagayana,  55;  cneorum, 
317;  majus,  317 

Datura,  16 

Day  Lily,  32,  310 


Deadly  nightshade,  its  associations, 

248,  249 
Delphinium,  name,  20;  belladonna, 

277,  306;   cardinale,  277;   formo- 

sum,  277;  grandiflorum,  277;  nu- 

dicaule,  277 
Designing,    garden,    139-155,    233, 

234 
Dianthus,  alpestris,  86;  alpinus,  54, 

74,    89,    319;    arenarius,    8,    85; 

atrorubens,    87;    ceesius,    8,    84; 

callizonus,  54,  90,  319;   carthusi- 

anorum,    87;     caryophyllus,    18; 

cinnabarinus,   87;    cruentus,   87; 

deltoides,  8,  84,  85;   fragrans,  8, 

85;   freynii,  50,  90;    gallicus,  86; 

giganteus,  87;    glacialis,  88,  90; 

Heddewigii,  82,  172;  Knappii,  87; 

monspessulanus,  8,  85;  neglectus, 

50,   88,   319;    noeanus,   86,    176; 

petraeus,  8,  85;  plumarius,  8,  83, 

84,  86;    sinensis,  82;    squarrosus, 

90;  suavis,  86;  superbus,  86,  219; 

sylvestris,  86 

Dicentra,  19;  spectabilis,  32 
Dodecatheons,  217 
Doronicum,  32 
Dorothy  Perkins,  244 
Doubling  flowers,  97-99 
Douglasia,  54 
Dovedale  Moss,  300 
Draba,  176;   aizoides,  215;   Aizoon, 

215;  brunisefolia,  215;  Mawii,  54; 

pyrenaica,  54 

Drainage,  use  of,  in  stiff  soil,  25-29 
Drought,  protection  from,  53-57 
Dryas  octopetala,  215,  324 
Dutch  gardens,  153,  154 

ECHEVERIAS,  248 

Edraianthus,  50;   serpyllifolius,  325 

Epilobium  angustifolium,  312 

Eremuri,  119 

Erigeron  speciosus,  198,  308 

Erinus  alpinus,  219 

Eritrichium  nanum,  53 


332 


INDEX 


Erodium  chrysanthum,  50;  gutta- 
tum,  50,  321;  macradenium,  177; 
Manescavi,  313;  Reichardii,  55, 
177,  321 

Eryngiums,  198 

Eschscholtzia,  name,  17,  169,  170 

Eurybria  gunniana,  13 

Evergreens,  cutting  back,  158,  159 

FAIRY  FORGET-ME-NOT,  53 

Farrer,  Mr.  Reginald,  "My  Rock 
Garden,"  295,  296 

Flowers,  anthologies  of,  304;  artifi- 
cial development,  92-101,  286; 
associations,  246-263;  beauty, 
283-292;  characteristics  artificial 
and  natural,  287;  decorative  use 
of,  251-253;  doubling,  97;  effect 
of  surroundings,  288,  291,  292; 
improvement,  92-101;  Japanese, 
255-260;  names,  English  and  bo- 
tanical, 15-24;  perfume  and  its 
associations,  260-262 

Foam  Flower,  22 

Foord's  "Decorative  Flower  Stud- 
ies," 252 

Forget-me-not,  77,  196;  name,  21; 
soil,  32 

Forsythia,  4 

Foxglove,  32 

Fritillaria  imperialis,  80;  meleagris, 
79,  80 

Fuchsia,  name,  17,  18 

Funkia,  32,  259;  Sieboldii,  310 

GALEGA,  197;  officinalis,  311 

Galtonias,  196,  198,  267 

Gardeners,  characteristics  and  rela- 
tions with  employers,  220-228 

Gardening,  artificial  character,  117; 
cheap  methods,  102-112;  Eng- 
lish ideals,  201-210;  experiments, 
their  necessity,  114;  foreign  ideals, 
201-204;  landscape,  4,  147,  229- 
233;  pleasure,  148 


Gardens,  cottage,  201,  202,  205-209; 

designing,     139-155,     233,     234; 

Dutch,  153, 154;  formal,  140, 141, 

232-236;  wild,  292 
Genista,  pilosa,  13,  175;    tinctoria, 

12,  13,  97,  175 
Gentiana,  as  rock  plants,  321,  322; 

acaulis,  80,  122;  verna,  51,  52,  74, 

122,  322 

Gentianella,  seed  of,  280 
Gentians,  seed  of,  280 
Geranium,   321;    associations,  246- 

248;   as  rock  plant,  321;   argen- 

teum,  50,  179,  321;  cinereum,  50, 

321;  grandiflorum,  311;  ibericum, 

311;  platypetalum,  311;  subcaules- 

cens,  179 

Gillyflower,  name,  17-19 
Gladiolus,   195-197;    culture,   264- 

267;   Brenchleyensis,  266;   Child- 

sii,   266;    gandavensis,   266;    Le- 

moinei,     266;     nanceianus,    266; 

Princeps,  266;  Saundersii,  266 
Globe  flowers,  311,  312 
Globularia  cordifolia,  219;  nana,  54 
Goatsrue,  197,  311 
Golden  Drop,  321 
Goldilocks,  name,  23 
Gorse,  4 

Grape  Hyacinth,  79 
Gypsophila,   197;   paniculata,   309; 

repens,  9,  219;    repens  monstro- 

sum,  9 

HAREBELL,  English,  37,  40-42 

Hawthorn,  240;  use  on  lawn,  245; 
in  shrubbery,  243 

Helianthemum,  for  banks,  10;  cro- 
ceum,  10;  formosum,  175 

Helichrysum,  23 

Hemerocallis,  32;  aurantiaca  ma- 
jor, 310;  Thunbergii,  310 

Henbane,  associations,  248,  249 

Herbaceous,  borders,  28-30,  183- 
191;  plants,  cutting  back,  162, 
163 


INDEX 


333 


Hollyhocks,  107,  108,  309;  planting 

of,  32 

Honeysuckle,  name,  15 
House-leeks,  325 
Houses,  relationship  of  gardens  to, 

229-236 

Humus,  use,  27,  28 
Hutchinsia  alpina,  219 
Hyacinth,  248;  arrangement  of,  194, 

195;  Cape,  267 
Hypericum  coris,  50;   Moserianum, 

313;  repens,  50;  reptans,  50,  325 

IBERIS  CORRE^FOLIA,  175;  saxatilis, 
50,  325;  sempervirens,  175,  219 

Incarvillea  Delavayi,  15,  253,  312 

lonopsidium  acaule,  181 

Iris,  70,  111,  122,  195,  196,  244; 
beauty  of,  289;  English,  111; 
florentina,  246;  German,  30,  32, 
122,  244,  289;  orchioides,  72; 
pallida  dalmatica,  309;  sindja- 
rensis,  72;  Spanish,  111,  195,  196; 
tingitana,  264;  Willmottiana,  72 

Ivy,  overgrowth  deprecated,  140 

JAPANESE  flowers  and  Japanese  art, 

255-260 
Judas  trees,  245 
Juniper,  175 

KAFFIR  LILT,  267 

Kalmias,  27 

Kniphofia  caulescens,  310 

LABURNUM,  240 

Lady's  Laces,  name,  23 

Landscape-gardening,  origin,  229- 
233;  unhomeliness,  147;  misap- 
plication of  principles,  4 

Lapeyrousia  cruenta,  267 

Larkspur,  99;  cutting  back,  163; 
planting,  29;  raising  from  seed, 
277;  soil  for,  32;  Persimmon,  306; 
True  Blue,  306 


Laurels,  clipping  deprecated,  6 

Lavatera  trimestris,  198 

Lavender,  175,  187,  188,  196,  197; 

for  banks,  13;   use  in  shrubbery, 

243,  244 

Lawns,  use  of  shrubs,  244,  245 
Lilacs,  244 
Lilium  auratum,  118,  128,  129,  136, 

137,  258,  291;  Batemanniae,  131; 

Brownii,    128,    136;     Canadense, 

134,    135;     candidum,    128-130; 

Chalcedonicum,  32,  118,  128,  132, 

133,  197;  concolor,  137;  coridion, 
137;   croceum,  118,  128,  131,  198; 
Dalmaticum,    132;     Davuricum, 
131;    elegans,  32,  128,  131,  198; 
giganteum,  128,  129,  135;  Grayi, 
135;     Hansoni,    128,    129,    131; 
Henryi,    128,    135;    Humboldtii, 
138;     Kraetzeri,    136;     Krameri, 
126, 128, 137;  Leichtlini,  128, 129, 
138;  longiflorum,  128,  137;  mari- 
timum,  138;    Martagon,  32,  128, 
132;    pardalinum,  118,  134,  135; 
Parryi,  138;  perenne,  198;  Phila- 
delphicum,  126, 138;  pomponium, 
128,   133,   197;    Pyrenaicum,  32, 

132,  133;   rubellum,  137;  specio- 
sum,    118,    128,    129,    136,    137; 
splendens,    131;    superbum,   118, 

134,  135;  Szovitzianum,  118,  127, 

133,  134;  Takesima,  137;  tenui- 
folium,  138;  testaceum,  118,  128, 
130,    306;     tigrinum,    118,    128, 
131;   umbellatum    32;    Washing- 
tonianum,  126,  138 

Lily,  culture,  112,  118,  127,  195- 
198;  name,  20;  raising  from  seed, 
126,  127;  association  with  shrubs, 
196,  197;  treatment,  125-138, 
306,  307;  use  of  manure,  118; 
varieties  for  spring  planting,  267; 
Crown  Imperial,  195;  Day,  32, 
310;  Orange,  32,  197;  Tiger,  32, 
198 

Lily  of  the  Valley,  in  stiff  soil,  32 


334 


INDEX 


Linaria  alpina,  179-181,  219,  323; 
cymbalaria,  218;  hepaticifolia, 
218;  Maroccana,  169 

Linum  narbonnense,  310;  perenne, 
310 

Lithospermum  prostratum,  176;  cul- 
ture, 316;  protection  from  wind, 
71,  213 

Lobelia,  181;  associations,  247,  248; 
cardinalis,  23 

London  Pride,  293,  294,  313 

Lonicera,  15 

Love-in-a-Mist,  169;  name,  19 

Lupins,  32 

Lychnis  lagascae,  50,  179 

MADONNA  LILY,  122,  196,  197;  as- 
sociations, 251;  culture,  118,  129, 
130,  306;  suitable  soil  for,  32 

Magnolias,  259 

Maianthemum  bif  olium,  22 

Maiden  pink,  84 

Malva  moschata,  313 

Mandrake,  legendary  associations, 
249,  250 

Manure,  use,  28,  117-120,  163 

Margyricarpus  setosus,  218 

Mawson,  Mr.  T.  H.,  "Art  and  Craft 
of  Garden  Making"  noticed,  139, 
147,  150,  231 

Meadow  Rue,  32,  311 

Mertensia  virginica,  313 

Michaelmas  Daisy,  32, 110, 123, 278, 
310 

Mignonette,  260 

Milla  biflora,  271 

Mimulus,  32 

Montbretias,  267,  271 

Morisia  hypogaea,  55,  157,  215 

Mountain  Sandwort,  21 

Muscaris,  198,  199 

Musk  mallow,  313 

Myosotis  dissitiflora,  77;  rupicola,  54 

NARCISSUS,  111;  cyclamineus,  72, 
218;  lobularis,  72;  marinus,  270; 


minimus,    72,    218;     minor,    72; 

nanus,  72,  218;  pheasant-eye,  33, 

250;  poeticus,  33;  triandrus  albus, 

21,  72,  218 
Nemesia,  172 
Nemophila,  169-171 
Nepeta  mussini,  198,  308 
Nerines,  culture,  270 
Nierembergia  rivularis,  268,  324; 
1    culture,  116,  177 

(ENOTHERA  MACROCARPA,  279,  308; 
marginata,  178;  taraxacifolia,  178 

Olearia  stellata,  13 

Omphalodes  luciliae,  54 

Onosma  tauricum,  321 

Orange  Globe,  312 

Orange  Lily,  32,  197 

Oriental  poppies,  309 

Ornithogalum  Arabicum,  270;  mi- 
tans,  79;  pyramidale,  79;  um- 
bellatum,  79 

Oxalis  enneaphylla,  320 

P^EONIA  ALBIFLORA,  307 

Pseonies,  in  stiff  clay,  30,  31;  The 
Bride,  307 

Pancratium  maritimum,  270;  H- 
lyricum,  270 

Pansy,  77;  cutting  back,  159;  in 
herbaceous  border,  190;  in  stiff 
soil,  31,  32;  tufted,  99,  218,  310 

Papaver  alpinus,  179,  180,  219,  323 

Parkinson,  on  Columbines,  60, 61, 63; 
on  the  Sea  Daffodil,  270;  on  the 
scent  of  flowers,  261 ;  on  the  Man- 
drake, 249,  250;  on  the  Ornitho- 
galum  Arabicum,  270 

Peake,  Mr.  C.  M.  A.,  "A  Concise 
Handbook  of  Garden  Annual  and 
Biennial  Plants"  noticed,  166, 167 

Pearls  of  Spain,  name,  23 

Pentstemon,  99,  107,  108;  barba- 
tus,  309;  glaber  alpinus,  323; 
Torreyi,  309 

Perennials,  hardy,  fifty  best  varie- 


INDEX 


335 


ties,  304-314;  raising  from  seed, 
plants  suitable  for,  106-109,  277- 
279;  plants  difficult  to  raise  from 
seed,  279-282;  suitable  soil  for,  34 

Petrocallis,  54. 

Phacelia  campanularia,  169 

Pheasant's  Eye,  33,  250 

Phlox,  for  banks,  11;  in  borders,  29; 
time  for  planting,  29;  raising  from 
seed,  280;  in  heavy  soil,  31,  32; 
amoena,  77;  Coquelicot,  310; 
decussata,  99;  divaricata,  77; 
Drummondii,  172;  Nelsoni,  11, 
76,  324;  ovata,  77;  subulata,  76; 
trailing,  76;  vivid,  11,  76,  324; 
Phyteuma  comosum,  50;  G.  F. 
Wilson,  76 

Pillar  Roses,  243,  244 

Pinks,  29,  176,  219,  244;  in  herba- 
ceous border,  190;  as  rock  plants, 
319;  Albino,  310;  mountain,  292; 
varieties,  see  under  Dianthus 

Plantain  Lilies,  259 

Planting,  autumn,  29-31 

Plants,  adaptability,  degrees  of,  115; 
associations,  246-263;  cutting 
back,  158-163;  division,  120-123, 
156-158;  half-hardy,  171,  172; 
removal  of,  121-123;  reproduc- 
tion, 158;  root  characteristics,  30, 
120,  121;  surface-rooting,  bene- 
fits of  manure,  118,  119;  seed, 
cheapness  of  raising  from,  106; 
southern,  suitability  for  banks,  11 

Platycodon,  259;  grandiflorum,  308: 
Mariesii,  308 

Plumbago  Larpentse,  178 

Polemonium  confertum,  54,  320; 
confertum  mellitum,  177,  216; 
mellitum,  320;  reptans,  308 

Polyanthuses,  32,  123,  156 

Polygonum  vaccinifolium,  177,  215, 
323 

Poppy,  121,  170;  Oriental,  162 

Potentilla  alba,  324:  nepalensis, 
311;  nitida,  50 


Primrose,  32,  123,  156,  250,  260 

Primula,  raising  from  seed,  280;  Al- 
pine, 54,  55;  auricula,  216;  auri- 
cula marginata,  216;  calycina, 
216;  denticulata,  123,  156;  gluti- 
nosa,  216;  involucrata,  217;  Japo- 
nica,  156,  280;  marginata,  216; 
minima,  216;  nivalis,  74,  321; 
pubescens,  74;  pubescens  alba, 
215,  321;  rosea,  156,  217;  Sikki- 
mensis,  156,  217;  viscosa,  216 

Princess  Beatrice,  310 

Publications  noticed:  "Beautiful 
Gardens,"  102;  "Art  and  Craft  of 
Garden  Making,"  139,  147,  150, 
231;  "A  Concise  Handbook  of 
Annual  and  Biennial  Plants,"  166; 
"Decorative  Flower  Studies," 
252;  "English  Flower  Garden," 
21,  249;  "My  Rock  Garden," 
295,  296 

Puschkinia,  198,  199;  libanotica,  79 

RAMONDIA  PYRENAICA,  216,  322 

Ranunculus,  as  rock  plant,  324; 
acris,  15;  amplexicaulis,  324; 
Asiaticus,  272 

Rhododendron,  27,  120,  244;  cut- 
ting back,  160;  chamaecistus,  54 

Robinson's  "English  Flower  Gar- 
den," 21,  249 

Rock  gardens,  condition  in  April, 
70-80;  aspect,  212;  autumn  con- 
dition, 174-182;  annuals  sug- 
gested, 181,  182;  bedding  out 
suggested,  179;  in  garden  design, 
155;  north  side,  suitable  plants, 
213-218;  south  side,  suitable 
plants,  219;  plants  that  require 
shelter  from  wind,  213 

Rock  plants,  fifty  best  varieties,  315- 
326;  autumn,  175-182,  323 

Rockspray,  name,  22 

Rosa  alpina,  322 

Rosaruby,  name,  23 

Rose-bay,  312 


336 


INDEX 


Rose  of  Sharon,  32 

Rosemary,  13,  175,  187,  188,  197 

Roseries,  243 

Roses,  artistic  associations,  251,  252; 
beauty  of,  289;  names,  23,  24; 
planting  time,  29,  30;  pruning, 
160-162;  for  rock  garden,  322; 
soils,  suitability  of  heavy,  33;  har- 
monizing surroundings,  171,  172 

Rubble,  mortar,  use,  27,  28 

SAND  HOUSE-LEEK,  21 

Santolina,  196,  197;  incana,  13,  175 

Saponaria,  170,  171;  for  banks,  9, 
10;  ocymoides,  9,  219,  317;  ocy- 
moides  alba,  218 

Saxifraga  Afghanica,  303;  Aizoon, 
296-298;  apiculata,  54,  176,  217, 
299;  atro-purpurea,  301;  Ber- 
genia,  302;  Boydii,  54,  300;  bril- 
liant flowered,  302;  burseriana, 
54,  217,  299,  318;  caesia,  54,  293, 
300;  Camposii,  217,  301;  ciliata, 
303;  cochlearis,  298;  cordifolia, 
302;  cotyledon,  297,  298,  318; 
crassifolia,  302;  decipiens,  301; 
Elizabethae,  300;  Fortunei,  302; 
Gloria,  299;  granulata,  301,  302; 
Griesbachii,  54,  300;  Guildford 
Seedling,  301;  hypnoides,  300; 
Kabschia,  299,  300;  Lantoscana, 
297;  Lasiophylla,  313;  ligulata, 
297,  303;  longifolia,  50,  214,  297, 
298;  McNabiana,  298;  megasea, 
302;  mossy,  176,  300-302;  mus- 
coides,  301;  oppositifolia,  217, 
302;  pedemontana,  301;  peltata, 
293;  pyramidalis,  50,  214,  298; 
Rhei,  301;  rotundifolia,  313;  Salo- 
monii,  300;  sancta,  217;  squar- 
rosa,  54,  293,  300;  Stracheyi,  303; 
tenella,  217,  302;  valdensis,  214, 
298;  Wallacei,  217,  301 

Saxifrages,  culture,  293-303;  confu- 
sion in  names  of,  295,  296,  303; 
as  rock  plants,  214,  217,  318;  ro- 


sette, 296;  wild  character  of,  294, 
295 

Scabiosa  caucasica,  311 

Scent  of  flowers,  260-262 

Schizostylis  coccinea,  267 

Scilla  bifolia,  198,  199;  sibirica,  72, 
79,  198,  199 

Sedum,  name,  20;  album,  j.2,  43, 
198,  199;  Ewersii,  177;  glaucum, 
75;  Sieboldii,  177 

Sempervivum  arachnoideum,  325; 
arenarium,  21;  laggeri,  325 

Shrubberies,  arrangement,  242-244 

Shrubs,  suitability  for  banks,  12; 
clipping,  142,  143;  cutting  back, 
159-162;  in  herbaceous  border, 
186-189;  for  rock  garden,  175; 
soil,  heavy,  33;  advantage  of  leaf- 
mould,  120 

Shrubs,  flowering,  their  right  use, 
237-245;  varieties,  238-240 

Sidalcea,  123;  Candida,  313;  Lis- 
teri,  313 

Silene,  170,  171;  for  banks,  9,  10; 
acaulis,  54,  214;  alpestris,  43,  214, 
318,  319;  Elizabethae,  50;  mari- 
tima,  97;  maritima  flore  pleno,  9; 
Schafta,  177,  219 

Slopes,  see  Banks 

Slugs,  how  to  deal  with,  34,  35 

Snails,  how  to  deal  with,  34,  35 

Snapdragon,  107,  108;  name,  20 

Snowdrop,  planting,  31 

Snowflake,  182 

Soil,  heavy,  25-35 

Soldanellas,  217 

Solomon's  seal,  32 

Southernwood,  187,  196 

Spiderwort,  32,  311 

Spiraea,  4,  32,  244;  aruncus,  311 

Squills,  70;  planting,  12,  31 

Statice  latifolia,  312 

Sternbergia  lutea,  182,  199 

St.  John's  Wort,  313 

Stonecrop,  for  banks,  12;  name,  20 

Summer  houses,  152,  153 


INDEX 


337 


Sun  roses,  10 
Sweet  Sultan,  170 
Syringa,  243 

TANACETUM  ACHILLEA,  for  banks, 
10;  Argenteum,  10,  176,  325 

Tender  and  True,  name,  24 

Thalietrum  aquilegifolium,  311 

Thrift,  10,  308 

Thyme,  suitability  for  banks,  10 

Thymus  lanuginosus,  10;  serpyl- 
lum,  10,  176,  219 

Tiarella  cordifolia,  22,  313 

Tiger  flower,  culture,  269;  name,  21 

Tiger  Lily,  32,  198 

Tigridias,  culture,  269 

Towns,  English  treatment  of  open 
spaces,  203,  207 

Tradescantia  virginica,  311 

Trees,  clipping,  142, 143;  apple,  245; 
Judas,  245 

Tritonia,  271 

Trollius,  32;  asiaticus,  312 

Tufted  pansy,  99,  218,  310 

Tulipa  Batalinii,  75;  biflora,  75; 
Kaufmanniana,  70,  74;  linifolia, 
75;  lownei,  75;  silvestris,  79;  pul- 
chella,  75 

Tulips,  248;  early  April,  70,  71; 
best  arrangement,  193-196;  for 
banks,  12;  in  borders,  28;  in  the 
grass,  79;  planting,  31;  Cottage 
Maid,  111;  Picotee,  111 


UMBRELLA  PLANT,  293 

VERBENA,  172 

Veronica  amethystina,  310;  pecti- 
nata,  10,  176,  219;  prostrata,  219, 
324;  repens,  176,  219;  teucrium, 
10 

Vetch,  for  banks,  10 

Villas,  suburban,  Englishman's  dis- 
like of,  230 

Viola,  99;  cutting  back,  159;  as 
rock  plant,  324;  Florizel,  310; 
gracilis,  324 

Violet,  32 

Violettas,  218 

Virgin's  Bower,  name,  22 

WAHLENBERGIAS,  50;  hederacea,  56 

Waldstenia  fragarioides,  218;  trifo- 
liata,  218 

Wallflowers,  culture,  77,  78,  196; 
name,  19 

Wistaria,  name,  17 

Wright,  Mr.  W.  P.,  "Beautiful  Gar- 
dens," noticed,  102-104 

YUCCA  FILAMENTOSA,  311;  gloriosa, 
311 

ZATJSCHNERIA  CALIFORNICA,  178 
Zephyranthes  Atamasco,  269;  Can- 
dida, 268 


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MAR     1   1933 
MAR  18  1934 


NOV    &    1935 


FEB  24  1&33 
APR    8   1946 


S*» 


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